Another F-35 fighter caught on fire

[Zarvan]

An F-35B from Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 (VMFAT-501), flies near its base a MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina.Lockheed Martin

An F-35B Joint Strike Fighter caught fire while in-flight during a training exercise last month, according to a report from Hope Hodge Seck of Military.com.

The incident was listed by the Naval Safety Center as a "Class A Mishap" — the most serious mishap class — which means that there was $2 million or more in damage. The Safety Center's report said the fire occurred in the aircraft's weapons bay on Oct. 27, and was followed by an "uneventful landing."

The actual amount of damage to the aircraft, which belonged to Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 out of Beaufort, S.C., is not yet known.

A number of calls made by Business Insider to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing for comment went unanswered. However, a spokesman reported to Military.com that there were no injuries in the incident.

"The aircraft landed safely and there were no injuries sustained," 1st Lt. John Roberts told the site. "An investigation is ongoing and we will provide updates as they are available."



This seems to be the first time the Marine F-35B variant of the aircraft — which takes off and lands vertically — has caught on fire. An Air Force F-35A caught on fire soon after its pilot started the engine in September. In 2014, another Air Force F-35 caught on fire during takeoff, according to Popular Mechanics.

The 2014 incident led the Pentagon to temporarily ground all F-35s until investigators determined a fix.

Besides potentially dangerous incidents of fire, the troubled fifth-generation fighter has been marred by cost overruns and criticized for its excessive cost. Earlier this month, defense officials put in a request for a half-billion more dollars to finish development of the jet, which has already gone 50% over its original budget.

Rising costs haven't been the only problem of note for the F-35. The jet has had plenty of other incidents while being built, such as electrical problems, major issues with its software, and problems related to its advanced helmet system.

Just four months ago, the Pentagon's chief weapons tester wrote in a memo the F-35 program was "not on a path toward success but instead on a path toward failing to deliver."

Still, the Air Force and Marines have both declared the fighter "combat ready" and have begun integrating it into their squadrons. The military has only taken delivery of about 180 of the aircraft from Lockheed Martin so far, though it plans to buy more than 2,400.

The fighter, which features stealth and advanced electronic attack and communications systems, is a project with roots going back to the late 1990s. Lockheed won the contract for the fighter in 2001.

http://www.businessinsider.com/marine-f-35-fighter-fire-2016-11

 

[maximuswarrior]

And the mishaps continue. An insanely expensive project destined for failure.

 

[maximuswarrior]

New fighter jets developed some problems but eventually later blocks would be error free, it is just like evolution.

Never heard of such major mishaps in other projects before.

 

[maximuswarrior]

New type of jet featuring never seen before technologies so one can expect some hurdles.

Good luck with that when some influential Americans themselves have started doubting the success of this project.

Just four months ago, the Pentagon's chief weapons tester wrote in a memo the F-35 program was "not on a path toward success but instead on a path toward failing to deliver."

 

[Hurshid Celebi]

Never heard of such major mishaps in other projects before.

Oh, please. A-400 project is a disaster.
And only half of the 112 Eurofighters of German Air Force are operational (2015 numbers)

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deuts...ehr-neue-maengel-beim-kampfjet-a-1057456.html

 

[gambit]

Never heard of such major mishaps in other projects before.

And am sure you speak from extensive personal experience in aviation.

 

[Penguin]

And only half of the 112 Eurofighters of German Air Force are operational (2015 numbers)

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deuts...ehr-neue-maengel-beim-kampfjet-a-1057456.html

If so, that is not due to the aircraft, but to false economies, limiting repair and maintenance.

As it says in the article you referred to:

"The timetable for the delivery of the "Eurofighter" is again a question with the new problem message. So far, the Bundeswehr has deployed 112 jets of the type, including only two older models of the so-called tranche one and two except for two aircraft. Only about half of the jets are considered to be operational, many of them are more or less shut down because of missing spare parts and other problems."

Never heard of such major mishaps in other projects before.

Have other project received the same external scutiny, that you know?

 

[Hurshid Celebi]

I completely agree to you.

But it is a fact that there are also other quality problems with Eurofighter.

The German Air Force has temporarily suspended delivery of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets following the discovery of quality problems involving the connection between the vertical stabilizers and the body of the aircraft.

http://www.defensenews.com/articles/germany-suspends-eurofighter-deliveries-due-to-quality-problems

I want add, Eurofighter and F-35 are different classes.
F-35 is stealthy and much more BVR capable, but Eurofighter is more agile and a better dogfighter.

 

[maximuswarrior]

And am sure you speak from extensive personal experience in aviation.

You don't have to have a PhD to assess how well the F-35 is faring since its inception. It has been scrutinized endlessly by experts within your own country. That includes government and security officials. I'm just saying.

If you don't believe me at least trust your own Pentagon's chief weapons tester:

Just four months ago, the Pentagon's chief weapons tester wrote in a memo the F-35 program was "not on a path toward success but instead on a path toward failing to deliver."

Are you disputing his assessment? He is surely more qualified than you.

PS. You voted for Trump yet?

If so, that is not due to the aircraft, but to false economies, limiting repair and maintenance.

As it says in the article you referred to:

"The timetable for the delivery of the "Eurofighter" is again a question with the new problem message. So far, the Bundeswehr has deployed 112 jets of the type, including only two older models of the so-called tranche one and two except for two aircraft. Only about half of the jets are considered to be operational, many of them are more or less shut down because of missing spare parts and other problems."


Have other project received the same external scutiny, that you know?

Depends on how you define scrutiny. No project is free from trial and error, but F-35 has had endless problems. The problems are also getting worse.

Oh, please. A-400 project is a disaster.
And only half of the 112 Eurofighters of German Air Force are operational (2015 numbers)

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deuts...ehr-neue-maengel-beim-kampfjet-a-1057456.html

A-400 project is a disaster.

LMAO Where did you pull that one from? Please provide sources.

 

[Hurshid Celebi]

LMAO Where did you pull that on from?

It is off topic but I will answer you.

A- 400 M fatal crash

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33078767

German Airforce looking for A-400 M alternatives

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deuts...swehr-plant-fuer-den-ernstfall-a-1091973.html

 

[maximuswarrior]

It is off topic but I will answer you.

A- 400 M fatal crash

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33078767

German Airforce looking for A-400 M alternatives

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deuts...swehr-plant-fuer-den-ernstfall-a-1091973.html

So, you are comparing one crash with a series of failures of F-35? What more proof do you need when the F-35 is grossly over budget? I understand Turkey has a stake in the F-35, but let's call a spade a spade. The F-35 is marred by technical problems and failures. The problems aren't disappearing. More importantly, finding comfort in the failures of other projects won't make the F-35 issues disappear.

 

[Peaceful Civilian]

F35 is getting better with passing times. There were few issues in past and they fixed it. Now, They found the issue, they will fix it.

 

[gambit]

You don't have to have a PhD to assess how well the F-35 is faring since its inception. It has been scrutinized endlessly by experts within your own country. That includes government and security officials. I'm just saying.

If you don't believe me at least trust your own Pentagon's chief weapons tester:

Just four months ago, the Pentagon's chief weapons tester wrote in a memo the F-35 program was "not on a path toward success but instead on a path toward failing to deliver."

Are you disputing his assessment? He is surely more qualified than you.

And if we dig hard enough, we can find plenty of negative comments about the F-16, starting with the loony idea of eliminating mechanical linkages in the flight control system.

Funny part is that YOU are not going to be around when -- not if -- the F-35 proved itself to be as successful as the F-15, F-16, and F-22. As more and more air forces who got involved with the program becomes more and more impressed with the jet, YOU will quietly turn tail and run. People like you are essentially cowards who do not acknowledge when they are wrong.

 

[Penguin]

It is off topic but I will answer you.

A- 400 M fatal crash

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33078767

German Airforce looking for A-400 M alternatives

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deuts...swehr-plant-fuer-den-ernstfall-a-1091973.html

If it is off-topic, why did YOU bring it up then?

An F-35B just carried out a remarkable test where its sensors spotted an airborne target, sent the data to an Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense site, and had the land-based outpost fire a missile to defeat the target — thereby destroying an airborne adversary without firing a single shot of its own.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/f-35-just-proved-russian-192811263.html

What other aircraft can do this?

...
On the heels of the US Air Force's decision to declare its version of the F-35 ready for war, a new report from the Heritage Foundation complied interviews from Air Force pilots to compare the fifth-generation jet to previous fighter jets.

"Only the pilots who have flown the fighter actually know how well the Air Force version of the F-35 can perform, and the 31 who were surveyed for this paper expressed a high degree of confidence in this extraordinary fighter," wrote the report's author, John Venable, a senior research fellow for defense policy and a retired US Air Force Thunderbird commander.

His findings: Pilots prefer the F-35.
...

• superior threat-detection
• distributed aperture system (DAS) + Generation III helmet = superior situational awareness "one of the greatest gifts you can give a pilot."
• "F-35A and the other fighters may be comparably priced, but the F-35A is a full generation ahead of any other multirole fighter nearing production."
• more effective than any other four-plus-generation multirole fighter jets

http://uk.businessinsider.com/why-f...oundation-2016-8?international=true&r=UK&IR=T

 

[Hassan Guy]

We should get some F-35's