700 F-35s and Counting: Most Advanced Capabilities to Win the High-end Fight

[Get Ya Wig Split]

700 F-35s and Counting: Most Advanced Capabilities to Win the High-end Fight

Lockheed Martin and the F-35 Joint Program Office delivered the 700th production F-35. With more than 700 F-35s now delivered to U.S. and international operators, the impact of the global fleet is far reaching – significantly enhancing the allied joint force. As the F-35 fleet grows, so too does the alliance-based force needed to deter or defeat near-peer competitors.

As Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall noted last week, “we need to move toward things that are more relevant to the fights we have to deter and, if necessary, win.” The F-35 is both the cornerstone of the fleet and a strategic deterrent.

With the commitment of 14 nations and counting, the U.S. and its allies are powering partnerships, security and economic growth through the F-35 program. By leveraging collective investments and economies of scale, the global F-35 team lowers costs across the program.

“The F-35 remains a premier air system of choice for three of the armed forces, seven international partners and six foreign military sales customers. It routinely demonstrates high-end capabilities at the hands of our joint and international warfighters, and it's performing in combat operations from land and sea,” said Pentagon press secretary John F. Kirby.

Today, F-35s are operating from 21 bases around the globe. More than 1,460 pilots and 11,025 maintainers have been trained and the F-35 fleet has surpassed 430,000 cumulative flight hours.

‘Cornerstone’
Senior U.S. defense leaders have reiterated their strong support for the F-35, which U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr. calls the “cornerstone” of the service’s fighter fleet. According to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, the F-35 is a “game-changing tactical air warfare capability.”

The U.S. Air Force is the largest F-35 operator with a planned purchase of 1,763 F-35A aircraft. The F-35 is the most advanced fighter in production today and its mission capable rates are above 70% and even higher for deployed units.

The U.S. Marine Corps operates F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing aircraft and plans to purchase 353 F-35Bs and 67 F-35C carrier variant aircraft. Together with the Marines, the U.S. Navy is bringing 5th Generation capability to the sea with plans to procure 260 F-35C aircraft.

Growing Global
The growing community of F-35 nations strengthens U.S. and global security, bolstering alliance-based deterrence, interoperability and partnership. With more than 220 F-35s now delivered to international operators, the impact of the global fleet is substantial – both in size and significance.

One of the most visible examples of international F-35 collaboration is the United Kingdom’s Carrier Strike Group deployment. The United Kingdom’s HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier began its initial deployment in May 2021, with British and U.S. Marine Corps F-35Bs aboard. The U.K. now has two aircraft carriers deployed with F-35Bs aboard – following the inaugural deployment of HMS Prince of Wales, Britain’s newest aircraft carrier.

By 2035, more than 450 F-35s will be stationed on the European continent, including 48 U.S. Air Force F-35As. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members with F-35 programs of record include Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, the United Kingdom and United States.

Switzerland recently selected the F-35 as the nation’s next fighter platform, production of the first F-35 for Poland is scheduled to begin in 2022 and the first aircraft is expected to be delivered in 2024. Preliminary talks are also underway with several potential new F-35 customers in Europe.

Partners in the Pacific
The F-35 is also powering partnerships in the Indo-Pacific, where regional nations plan to procure a combined total of nearly 300 F-35s.

Australia operates the F-35A with a program of record for 100 F-35A aircraft. Japan is acquiring more F-35s than any other international customer with an established program of record of 147 F-35 aircraft – 105 F-35As and up to 42 F-35Bs. The Republic of Korea is currently taking deliveries of 40 F-35A aircraft, and Singapore is on track to receive its first F-35B in 2026.

Advanced, Affordable
The F-35 delivers unmatched interoperability and the ability to forward-deploy and operate in hostile environments, side-by-side with allies. As adversaries advance and legacy aircraft age, the F-35 is critical to maintaining air dominance for decades to come.

The F-35’s affordable total ownership costs deliver the lowest cost-per-effect – the total cost to achieve a mission outcome.

While the F-35 offers unmatched capabilities today, the platform is poised to continue to mature and the F-35 Enterprise will continue to integrate new technologies and capabilities into the F-35 to outpace emerging threats – whenever and wherever needed.

700 F-35s: Advanced Capabilities to Win the High-end Fight

On Sept. 27, Lockheed Martin and the F-35 Joint Program Office delivered the 700th production F-35.

www.f35.com

 

[GumNaam]

never mind the fact that the pigeon has to queue up for refueling after every 30 minutes of flightv to stay in flight!

The F-35: The Trillion Dollar Plane That Could Run Out Of Gas?

Could tankers solve the issue for one of America's most important allies?

nationalinterest.org

rip tax payers' $$$

 

[Battlion25]

The war won't happen in this decade but somewhere in the mid 40s or 50s meaning F-35s won't likely even make a cameo in WW3 but newer platforms across the board Its not necessarily a handicap to the US as they will likely belt out a 6th or 7th generation fighters at that point

 

[StraightEdge]

This is just pure marketing stats, nothing more. Reality is more grey.

Watchdog group finds F-35 sustainment costs could be headed off affordability cliff

The F-35 program is expected to cost taxpayers a total of $1.7 trillion across its lifecycle, according to the Pentagon’s Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office’s 2020 estimate.

Under current estimates, the U.S. Air Force will reach a tipping point where projected F-35 sustainment costs become too expensive, forcing the service to either cut its planned buy of the Lockheed Martin-made jet or drastically reduce flying hours, the Government Accountability Office found in a new report.

F-35 Sustainment: DOD Needs to Cut Billions in Estimated Costs to Achieve Affordability

The Air Force needs to reduce estimated costs per tail per year by $3.7 million (or 47 percent) by 2036 or it will incur $4.4 billion in costs beyond what it currently projects it could afford in that year alone. Cost reductions become increasingly difficult as the program grows and matures. However, GAO found that there is no agreed upon approach to achieve the constraints.

Also, it's still yet to match the reliability goals.

The Lockheed Martin-made F-35′s mission capable rate — which describes the percentage of aircraft that can meet at least one of its assigned missions — currently sits at 69 percent, falling short of the military’s longstanding 80 percent goal

The Defense Department still isn’t meeting its F-35 readiness goals

Lord attributed the low percentage of fully mission capable jets to ongoing issues with the F-35′s canopy and the F135 engine’s power module.
Although she did not elaborate, the program has grappled with a longstanding problem with “transparency delamination,” where outer layers of the canopy begin to peel away from the base.

Although the F-35′s mission capable rate has improved in recent years, the latest figures presented by Lord show that progress be stagnating.