F-22 / F-35 5th Generation jets | News & Discussions.

[jaibi]

Maan are those planes a beaut!

However, it seems that the price tag would see a plane cost about as much as a small country makes so the defence gap's going to become wider and wider.

 

[SpArK]

Pentagon Contract Announcement

(Source: US Department of Defense; issued Jan 29, 2014)

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Ft. Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $35,781,319 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00019-02-C-3002) to develop a Universal Armament Interface capability in the F-35 software for Small Diameter Bomb II F-35 Mission Systems Integration Laboratory, ground test only.

Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in April 2018. Fiscal 2014 research, development, test and evaluation, Navy funds in the amount of $4,000,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.


Translated into plain English, this announcement shows Lockheed is charging the Pentagon almost $36 million to perform ground tests on an interface which will allow the F-35 to carry the Small Diameter Bomb II.

And, even then, this is a “cost-plus-fixed-fee contract,” so Lockheed can charge more if its own costs are higher than expected. It is not the fixed-cost contracts promised by the Joint Program Office.
Pentagon Contract Announcement

 

[500]

Navy’s F-35C Completes Landing Tests Ahead of October Sea Trials

Navy F-35C test plane CF-3 successfully catches a wire during testing at Naval Air

The U.S. Navy’s carrier-based version of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter is nearing October sea trials after completing shore-based testing at Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst, New Jersey, to ensure compatibility with shipboard arresting gear.

Navy's F-35C Completes Landing Tests Ahead of October Sea Trials | USNI News

Nice pic of Dutch F-35:

 

[xenon54 out]

Nice pic of Dutch F-35:

That thing looks so sexy, you can literally smell the High Tech out of the picture, cant wait to see Turkish F-35.

 

[Esc8781]

Sorry, gotta post this....

 

[KAL-EL]

Sorry, gotta post this....

A sexy beast, with or without snow

 

[gambit]

Sorry, gotta post this....

Given enough time, an idiot is going to post Rachel Maddow and her 'rain affected stealth' nonsense...

 

[KAL-EL]

Given enough time, an idiot is going to post Rachel Maddow and her 'rain affected stealth' nonsense...

Or a mental midget will post here and tell us the plain looks to bulky to be maneuverable.

 

[Superboy]

Sorry, gotta post this....

F-22 Raptor, not effective against global warming.

 

[Bratva]

Given enough time, an idiot is going to post Rachel Maddow and her 'rain affected stealth' nonsense...

Would you explain a little about on F-22 Air to ground attack capability or there is none in F-22?? If there exists a A-G attack capability, where POD would be attached on F-22 since it doesn't has distributed EOS like F-35?

 

[Superboy]

Would you explain a little about on F-22 Air to ground attack capability or there is none in F-22?? If there exists a A-G attack capability, where POD would be attached on F-22 since it doesn't has distributed EOS like F-35?

Wasn't it called F/A-22 prior to being renamed F-22A?

 

[Bratva]

F-35 Software: DoD's Chief Tester Remains Unimpressed
By Robert N. Charette
Posted 3 Feb 2014 | 18:49 GMT

U.S. Air Force

Last week was a very quiet week in regard to reported IT-related system snarls, snags and snafus. With yesterday being ground-hog day here in the U.S., and in keeping with the spirit of the movie of the same name, I have decided to return once more to F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and its continuing software “challenges.”

Last week, the Department of Defense's Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), J. Michael Gilmore, publicly released his annual report on major U.S. defense acquisitions. Gilmore reiterated his frustration with the lack of reliability and supportability of software in major defense support and weapon system programs. While Gilmore’s report highlighted many defense programs' software problems, those related to the F-35 continue to hold center stage.

For instance, in October 2013, a new increment of Block 2B software—theblock that provides initial combat capability—that was supposed to include many fixes to previously identified deficiencies, began flight testing, the report says. However, the DOT&E report goes on to say:

“Initial results with the new increment of Block 2B software indicate deficiencies still exist in fusion, radar, electronic warfare, navigation, EOTS, Distributed Aperture System (DAS), Helmet‑Mounted Display System (HMDS), and datalink. These deficiencies block the ability of the test team to complete baseline Block 2B test points, including weapons integration.”

Although plans call for the military to “complete Block 2B fight testing in October 2014...there is no margin for additional growth to meet that date,” the DOT&E report found. “Projections for completing Block 2B fight testing using the historical rate of continued growth ... show that Block 2B developmental testing will complete about 13 months later, in November 2015, and delay the associated fleet release to July of 2016.”

In addition, the DOT&E report notes that there are still problems with the F-35's Block 2A software, i.e., the block that is “designed to provide enhanced training capabilities to the Integrated Training Center at Eglin AFB, Florida, and to the first operational units.”

The F-35 test teams found:

“deficiencies in the aircraft sensor operations, particularly the Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS), aircraft communications capabilities, pilot electronic interfaces, and the aircraft Caution, Advisory, and Warning System. Although the software was intended to provide more mission systems capability, poor sensor performance and stability, excessive nuisance warnings, and disproportionate pilot workload required for workarounds and system resets made the software of limited utility for training. In any type of operational mission scenario, the performance of the software would be unacceptable.”

These and other software issues, e.g., related to the F-35's Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS)—as well as non-software related problems—notwithstanding, neither the U.S. military's nor its international partners’ enthusiasm for the F-35 has diminished. The Marine Corps, for instance, insists it's still planning for a 2015 IOC (initial operating capability) for its F35B version, while the U.K. says it is close to placing its first order andSouth Korea is expected to do so later this year.

The F-35 Program Office complained that while Gilmore’s report “was factually accurate” it “did not reflect concerted efforts under way by this office and industry to address software, reliability and maintenance issues,” Reutersreported. “Of course, we recognize risks still exist in the program, but they are understood and manageable,” the Program Office insisted.

Gilmore may need to remind the F-35 Program Office (again) that the DOT&E office deals with facts, not promises.

F-35 Software: DoD's Chief Tester Remains Unimpressed - IEEE Spectrum
​

 

[OCguy]

Edit: Looks like someone made a separate thread on this, but maybe we should have it in the official F35 thread as well?


C Variant High Angle of Attach Testing Info Released:

 

[Kompromat]

Or a mental midget will post here and tell us the plain looks to bulky to be maneuverable.

Climatic testing.

 

[gambit]

Would you explain a little about on F-22 Air to ground attack capability or there is none in F-22?? If there exists a A-G attack capability, where POD would be attached on F-22 since it doesn't has distributed EOS like F-35?

If the determination is there, the F-22 will be given air-ground attack capability. May be not as good as the F-35, but will be 'good enough'. But as of now, the F-22 remains a dedicated air superiority fighter.