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

[Techy]

F-35 maintenance diagnostic system needs software fix

Key Points

• ALIS is experiencing high "false positive" rates
• Software upgrades will have to be introduced to fix the problems over time

The automated maintenance system under development for the Pentagon's Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter is still experiencing high "false positive" rates when used to check the jets, programme officials told members of Congress during a 14 April hearing of the House Armed Services tactical air and land subcommittee.

The F-35's Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) is a computer diagnostic system that mechanics plug into the aircraft to simplify maintenance checks.

"The programme is improving, but it is not where it needs to be," said Sean Stackley, the assistant secretary of the US Navy (USN) for acquisition. "The issue of false positives is very real," Stackley added. "The concerns with regards to the reliability, responsiveness, the timeliness of ALIS informing the war fighter is at the top of our priority list." He said the programme office is testing software upgrades that will have to be inserted over time.

In addition to its high false positive rate, officials raised concerns that the system functions sluggishly. Lieutenant General Christopher Bogdan, the F-35 programme executive officer, said ALIS has been treated as a separate effort rather than as part of the F-35 programme, but he has now "changed fundamentally how we develop ALIS" in hopes of developing solutions sooner. "It's a problem," Gen Bogdan said. "We know it is a problem, and we have to address it."

Physically, the system is a roomful of servers and is too large to deploy aboard ships. Its software includes some 5 million lines of code. The system is used to diagnose all three variants of the aircraft, including the US Marine Corps' (USMC's) short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) variant, which is set to become operationally deployable within months.

Source: IHS Jane (unable to post the link)

 

[IrbiS]

 

[metronome]

Norwegian Air Force's monthly F-35 desktop calender

Kampflykalender – mai 2015 |

 

[Indus Falcon]

Dutch F-35 Pilots To Train on Italian M-346
By Tom Kington 10:37 a.m. EDT
May 11, 2015

ROME — The Netherlands Air Force has struck a deal with Italy to send F-35 pilots to train in Italy on the AleniaAermacchi M-346 jet trainer, officials said on Monday.
Following an agreement signed between the air forces last week, the Netherlands will send an instructor and two student pilots to Italy's training base at Lecce in southern Italy to train on the M-346, AleniaAermacchi said.

The first group could be followed by other pilots, the firm said.

A spokesman for the Italian Air Force said the pilots arriving would be future F-35 pilots.

Last December, the Italian Air Force signed to buy three M346 aircraft to add to the six it has already purchased. Italy has long term plans to buy a total of 15 of the trainers, known as the T-346A by the Italian Air Force.

The M-346 has been purchased by Singapore, Israel and Poland, with 59 aircraft ordered to date.

Dutch F-35 Pilots To Train on Italian M-346

 

[Transhumanist]

Norway Stronk!!!

Watch F-35Bs Hover In For A Landing Off A Fake Ship Deck In The Desert

As the F-35B closes in on its (somewhat arbitrary) Initial Operational Capability date, crews have been expanding their flight training. Part of that includes Field Carrier Landing Practice where pilots hone their abilities at handling the aircraft around the tight confines of a amphibious assault ship – or at least a really convincing mock-up.

The short takeoff at the very end is especially edgy to watch as the jet slowly gains momentum at post-stall speeds low over ground:

 

[خره مينه لګته وي]

F-22 notches first guided AIM-9X Sidewinder firing

Key Points

• The F-22 has for the first time fired a guided AIM-9X
• Introduction into the operational fleet is expected in 2017

The US Air Force's (USAF's) F-22 Raptor combat aircraft has fired a guided Raytheon AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile for the first time, the USAF announced in a 6 May statement.

USAF test pilots fired two guided AIM-9X missiles earlier this year, but the event was not revealed until now. The first shot was taken on 26 February and the missile successfully shot down a BQM-34 drone.

The second guided firing was conducted on 29 April and targeted a BQM-74 drone. "The second shot was done in a much more stressing flight regime, doing things that only the Raptor can do while employing the AIM-9X," Jeremy Cookson, F-22 Weapons Integration lead engineer, said in the statement.

Lockheed Martin was awarded a USD33.4 million contract in October 2014 to modify the Raptor to carry the AIM-9X. The contract provided for the upgrade of 220 AIM-9 Configurable Rail Launchers (CRLs) to be compatible with the AIM-9X. Work is being performed at Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed by early 2017.

The AIM-9X has the same rocket motor and warhead as previous versions of the missile, but its guidance section features an imaging infrared seeker. Unlike older variants of the missile, it includes fixed forward canards and smaller fins, as well as a jet-vane steering system for enhanced post-launch agility. Operational F-22s currently carry the AIM-9M.

The two guided test shots mark the beginning of the integration phase of the F-22's AIM-9X test flight programme. The carriage and separations phases were completed earlier with 17 successful releases.

The AIM-9X is already in service with several of the USAF's legacy combat aircraft, including the Boeing F-15C Eagle, F-15E Strike Eagle, F/A-18A+ Hornet, F/A-18C/D Hornet, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon. Integration work on the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter is also in progress.

Source : IHS

 

[Indus Falcon]

USAF test fired two guided AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles from F-22 Raptor
13 May 2015

Image: The AIM-9X is the newest of the Sidewinder family of short-range air-to-air missiles carried on a wide range of fighter jets. Photo: courtesy of David Henry / Lockheed Martin.

The US Air Force (USAF)'s 411th Flight Test Squadron and F-22 Combined Test Force (CTF) have successfully tested two guided AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles from the F-22 Raptor tactical fighter aircraft.

The AIM-9X advanced infrared missile is the newest of the Sidewinder family of short-range air-to-air missiles. This new development marks the latest phase in bringing the Raptor closer to using the missile operationally.

The first guided launch of the AIM-9X missile from an F-22 Raptor successfully shot down a BQM-34 drone during the test.

In April, the USAF carried out the second guided firing, targeting a BQM-74 drone.

"The first guided launch of the AIM-9X missile from an F-22 Raptor successfully shot down a BQM-34 drone during the test."
According to the USAF, the AIM-9X missile has a digital guidance system and infrared signal processing that offers an improved acquisition ranges and enhanced infrared counter-countermeasures capability.

In addition, it will provide extremely high off-boresight engagement zones for unprecedented first shot, first kill air-to-air performance.

411 FLTS operations assistant director major Christopher Guarente said: "The 9X will give the pilot the capability to launch this missile from any condition he can find himself in.

"The aircraft will be able to employ the 9X at high angles of attack and high-look angles, which will allow the pilot freedom to manoeuvre as necessary to achieve the first shot and kill without being limited by the missile's launch capability."

The recently completed two guided test shots mark the start of the integration phase of the F-22 CTF's AIM-9X programme.

As part of this, CTF completed the carriage phase, while the separations phase is ongoing with 17 successful releases.

USAF test fired two guided AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles from F-22 Raptor - Airforce Technology

 

[Major Shaitan Singh]

Six USMC F-35Bs Land Aboard The Wasp For Critical Operational Trials

A half-dozen F-35Bs just landed on the deck of the USS Wasp (LHD-1) to begin the first shipboard phase of their operational trials. For the next two weeks, the six jets will prove they can operate aboard a Gator Navy Flattop under real-world conditions similar to those the jet will face during its operational lifespan.

No less than five squadrons will be involved in this portion of the F-35B’s operational testing. These include Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 and 501, as well as Marine Test and Evaluation Squadron 22. Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 13 and 31 will also play a crucial role to see if these new jets continue operating throughout this critical evaluation phase.

Dubbed OT-1, the testing will including operating the F-35B during a wide array of flightdeck scenarios, including day and night operations, while flying in various configurations. It will also assess the jet’s connectivity with the ship’s communications and data systems, the landing signal officer’s new software tailored for the F-35B, as well as all types of maintenance scenarios. There will also be the loading and unloading of weapons on and off the jets as it operates at sea.

Beyond testing the jets themselves, this period at sea will also be used to assess what other modifications will need to be made to the USSWasp and other helicopter landing ships in order to support the jet during its operational career. This has been a sensitive topic as the F-35’s hot exhaust has proven to be very abrasive to the decks of all existing ships that could accommodate it.

The sea trials phase comes as the F-35 program office is looking to declare the USMC’s version of the jet operational this summer, even though it will be stripped of many of its capabilities andits software and testing will remain deep in development.

Operating from a ship with a contingent of six aircraft under conditions they have never faced is a challenging event that has its risks. Even though the F-35B has been to the ship before on multiple occasions it has never been pushed like how it will be during OT-1.

The F-35 program hopes that this evaluation period will go just as well as theF-35C’s initial boat trials a few months ago, although that event was far less complex than this one and only included two jets. The Navy’s F-35C operational test trials remain years away.

 

[monitor]

Will F-35 Pilots Command a Swarm of Drones in Flight?
The U.S. Air Force’s chief scientist thinks so.

By Franz-Stefan Gady
May 21, 2015
7
22
2
0
31 Shares
7 Comments
Over at military.com, Kris Osborn discusses a new U.S. Air Force report to be released next month that outlines how F-35 Joint Strike Fighter pilots will be able to control a swarm of nearby drones from their cockpits while in flight.

According to Osborn, the new Air Force report, entitled “Autonomous Horizons,” will highlight plans to improve sensors, develop new algorithms and introduce new unmanned platforms. The paper will also deliberate on the teaming up of manned and unmanned aircraft, “wherein manned aircraft control the flight path and sensor payload of a nearby UAS while in flight.”

“We are setting up the ability for an aircraft to take high-level command of UAS [unnamed aircraft system]. Those unmanned aircraft will have to be capable of flying in concert in a safe manner. They will need to be capable of taking high level commands and be able to execute those effectively,” said Mica Endsley, the U.S. Air Force’s chief scientist, in an interview with military.com discussing the report.

She also deliberates on the future use of unmanned aircraft systems:

We see unmanned vehicles being used for a much wider variety of missions. Today they are primarily used for ISR, long duration missions where we want to collect information. In the future, they will be moving cargo and more manned-unmanned teaming where they are acting as extensions of a manned aircraft.

The U.S. Air Force is also planning to have its new Long Range Strike Bomber or LRS-B configured to fly manned and unmanned missions (see: “What Do We Know About the US Air Force’s New Bomber?”). However, will there ever be remotely controlled F-35 Joint Strike Fighters in the air engaging in combat?

Not very likely, according to Endsley:

I don’t think that fighter aircraft are a good target for that kind of autonomy (…)Trying to teach a computer to have the same kinds of perceptual capabilities that people have is very difficult. They have gotten better at object recognition but understanding the context in which that object is operating could be difficult (…)You can have a lot of variability in situations and it is very hard to program systems to handle every situation. People, on the other hand, are much more able to deal with novel or unforeseen circumstances.

She also cautioned against exaggerating the progress that has been made in developing unmanned aircraft systems:

I don’t believe we will see fully autonomous systems overnight. We are going to see a slow evolution in that direction as we add autonomy to different functions in the cockpit for different functions in the analysis process or in the cyber arena. We want to be sure that we have effective human-autonomy teaming so that people are still going to be able to do their jobs – automation can increase workload if it is not easy to use.

View attachment 219402

I read when full rate production will star price will down to 83 million dollar that's very cheap and affordable for many country .

 

[zahidiqbalrana]

They are now on 5th generation air crafts... awe... what a technology blow..

 

[zahidiqbalrana]

Great informative thread with ware fare info

awesome and readable info

 

[500]

Labor hours for F-35 production are dropping:

F-35 fleet in 2020:

Israel is set to be 1st foriegn customer to become operational with F-35 in 2017 timeframe.

Current F-35 status:

More than 140 F-35s now flying, 50+ sorties a day.

Tim Robinson (@RAeSTimR) | Twitter

 

[The enlightened]

@500
Are Israeli parts going to be allowed on the F-35? I reckon if India is to ever get this, we would rather take Israeli avionics over the highly downgraded American that come with EUMA, CISMOA.

 

[500]

@500
Are Israeli parts going to be allowed on the F-35? I reckon if India is to ever get this, we would rather take Israeli avionics over the highly downgraded American that come with EUMA, CISMOA.

There will be installed Israeli EW systems. Also helmets of all F-35th have Israeli Elbit technology.

 

[cabatli_53]