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

[500]

F-35 fires first AIM-9X missile
412th Test Wing Public Affairs / Published January 21, 2016

AF-1, of the 461st Flight Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., became the first F-35 to fire the AIM-9X missile Jan. 12, 2016. (Lockheed Martin photo/Chad Bellay)

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) -- An F-35 fighter jet from the 461st Flight Test Squadron launched an AIM-9X missile for the first time over the Pacific Sea Test Range Jan. 12.

The flight sciences aircraft, AF-1, of the Joint Strike Fighter Integrated Test Force, was piloted by David Nelson, the Lockheed Martin chief F-35 test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base.

The AIM-9X is an advanced infrared missile and the newest of the Sidewinder family of short-range air-to-air missiles carried on a wide range of fighter jets.

The missile was launched at 6,000 feet.

The shot paves the way for the F-35 to utilize the weapon's high off-boresight and targeting capabilities, increasing lethality in the visual arena.

F-35 fires first AIM-9X missile > U.S. Air Force > Article Display

 

[Aftab720]

There is many officials in the US air force who repeatedly asks to reopen the F 22 A Raptor production line to produce more improved F 22 fighters for the US air force with possible export variant of F 22 to friendly countries, As latest the US Air force secretary Lee James too says the same in a seminar at Washington, However he didn't mentioned about the export variant of F 22 raptor.

The Raptor's production line was closed after seven years of serial production from two production lines, one is from Georgia another from Texas, Both of these plants produce more than 187 flying units with eight prototype variants, The Lockheed designed the Raptor to provide effective air superiority to the US air force for the next fifty years. Raptor accomplishes the Lockheed's and USAF's wish, The Raptor remain one of the best fighter jet in the world.

US initially planned to produce more than seven hundred Raptors to support the F 15 in air superiority mission in any contested zone, Due to budget issues, the orders are reduced by more than 50%, later the same once again reduced by another half, which brings the total F 22 numbers by just 187. USAF lost three of it's Raptors in crashes, which remains 184 currently in service.

Pratt&Whitney who produces the F 119 engines to the F 22 remain opens for spare part and additional engine production, they agreed to double the production if US government agreed to do so, Meanwhile production line in above mentioned plants is remains, the tooling and other machinery items couldn't be removed, They can run the production line within a year, If US orders to produce more Raptor's.

Total program cost of the Raptor is more than $67 billions, which include Research and Development and production of 195 flying units, Lockheed produced nearly 195 flying units for the above mentioned cost. Compared to other fighters the Raptor's operating cost is very high, For one hour of flying mission F 22 spends nearly $70,000 worth of resources, which is more than fifty lakh's rupees per hour, the amount is triple than the F 16 operating cost.





However the performance wise Raptor remains top, compared to all other fighters, The service availability rate of USAF F 22 remains some 80% which is one of the best known figure, Indian Su 30 MKI service availability rate is just below 55%,

The problem in the F 22 is, It has less number of sortie rate, most probably each F 22 can perform only two sorties per day, even that they required special base setups for housing the fighters, Due to it's golden canopy and the radar absorbent materials. So handling the fighters need huge manpower and special care.

That's the main reasons behind the early closure of F 22 production line, after F 22 US mulls into a multi national project of Joint strike fighter with increased ground strike capability and lesser air superiority capability, The F 35 gets serious comments from all over the world, which include many aviation experts, calling the F 35 could be a better option for strike not for air dominance.

The F 22 has been once offered to America's closest ally, Israel and Japan, Israeli defense official once openly said in a seminar that Israel negotiating to buy 24 F 22 A units for the price tag of $200 million per plane, Japan and Australia too express interest of buying F 22, however US didn't allowed to sell those fighters, later they all ended up with F 35, which is lesser in price compared to F 22 A.

More than five years after closure of F 22 production line, each from Russia, China, Japan builds their own fifth generation fighters, even performance wise the F 22 beat all other contenders. It's pretty good option for the US and Lockheed to reopening the F 22 production line and build a exported variant of F 22 to friendly countries, which include Israel, India, Japan and South Korea.

India not ready to invest another huge billions into Russian aviation industry, The PAK FA and FGFA program almost hits a roadblock, India has some alternate solutions for fifth generation fighter jets, The US made F 35 or joining with Japanese ATD-X program.

Also there is a huge opportunity for India to buy some three squadron of F 22 Raptors specially to counter Chinese air force J 20, J 31 and Su 35 S, The F 22 is a proven platform with it's performance over Arabian Gulf and over Syrian air space. The Pakistani's too get handful numbers of J 31 or Su 35 S near future. So the need of modern fighter in IAF remains very important.

Many military analysts thinks the export variant of F 22 could help the Indian Air force to counter balance the Chinese in Asian region, The Indian signature of CISMOA, LSA and BECA with US may easily open the doors of top end US arms to India. The Indian government soon will sign the above mentioned agreement to check China.

 

[Blue Marlin]

There is many officials in the US air force who repeatedly asks to reopen the F 22 A Raptor production line to produce more improved F 22 fighters for the US air force with possible export variant of F 22 to friendly countries, As latest the US Air force secretary Lee James too says the same in a seminar at Washington, However he didn't mentioned about the export variant of F 22 raptor.

The Raptor's production line was closed after seven years of serial production from two production lines, one is from Georgia another from Texas, Both of these plants produce more than 187 flying units with eight prototype variants, The Lockheed designed the Raptor to provide effective air superiority to the US air force for the next fifty years. Raptor accomplishes the Lockheed's and USAF's wish, The Raptor remain one of the best fighter jet in the world.

US initially planned to produce more than seven hundred Raptors to support the F 15 in air superiority mission in any contested zone, Due to budget issues, the orders are reduced by more than 50%, later the same once again reduced by another half, which brings the total F 22 numbers by just 187. USAF lost three of it's Raptors in crashes, which remains 184 currently in service.

Pratt&Whitney who produces the F 119 engines to the F 22 remain opens for spare part and additional engine production, they agreed to double the production if US government agreed to do so, Meanwhile production line in above mentioned plants is remains, the tooling and other machinery items couldn't be removed, They can run the production line within a year, If US orders to produce more Raptor's.

Total program cost of the Raptor is more than $67 billions, which include Research and Development and production of 195 flying units, Lockheed produced nearly 195 flying units for the above mentioned cost. Compared to other fighters the Raptor's operating cost is very high, For one hour of flying mission F 22 spends nearly $70,000 worth of resources, which is more than fifty lakh's rupees per hour, the amount is triple than the F 16 operating cost.





However the performance wise Raptor remains top, compared to all other fighters, The service availability rate of USAF F 22 remains some 80% which is one of the best known figure, Indian Su 30 MKI service availability rate is just below 55%,

The problem in the F 22 is, It has less number of sortie rate, most probably each F 22 can perform only two sorties per day, even that they required special base setups for housing the fighters, Due to it's golden canopy and the radar absorbent materials. So handling the fighters need huge manpower and special care.

That's the main reasons behind the early closure of F 22 production line, after F 22 US mulls into a multi national project of Joint strike fighter with increased ground strike capability and lesser air superiority capability, The F 35 gets serious comments from all over the world, which include many aviation experts, calling the F 35 could be a better option for strike not for air dominance.

The F 22 has been once offered to America's closest ally, Israel and Japan, Israeli defense official once openly said in a seminar that Israel negotiating to buy 24 F 22 A units for the price tag of $200 million per plane, Japan and Australia too express interest of buying F 22, however US didn't allowed to sell those fighters, later they all ended up with F 35, which is lesser in price compared to F 22 A.

More than five years after closure of F 22 production line, each from Russia, China, Japan builds their own fifth generation fighters, even performance wise the F 22 beat all other contenders. It's pretty good option for the US and Lockheed to reopening the F 22 production line and build a exported variant of F 22 to friendly countries, which include Israel, India, Japan and South Korea.

India not ready to invest another huge billions into Russian aviation industry, The PAK FA and FGFA program almost hits a roadblock, India has some alternate solutions for fifth generation fighter jets, The US made F 35 or joining with Japanese ATD-X program.

Also there is a huge opportunity for India to buy some three squadron of F 22 Raptors specially to counter Chinese air force J 20, J 31 and Su 35 S, The F 22 is a proven platform with it's performance over Arabian Gulf and over Syrian air space. The Pakistani's too get handful numbers of J 31 or Su 35 S near future. So the need of modern fighter in IAF remains very important.

Many military analysts thinks the export variant of F 22 could help the Indian Air force to counter balance the Chinese in Asian region, The Indian signature of CISMOA, LSA and BECA with US may easily open the doors of top end US arms to India. The Indian government soon will sign the above mentioned agreement to check China.

if the production line opens this would mean that it would fill the gap until the 6th gen fighters are available. also japan and israel would be definitely be lobbying like hell to get an export variant

 

[asia2000]

http://www.popularmechanics.com/mil...rts-puts-hard-limits-on-f-35s-combat-utility/

Aviation Week has published a 48-page report from Michael Gilmore, the Pentagon's Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, which casts serious doubts on whether the Marines' current version of the F-35, the Block 2B, is capable of entering combat on it own.

Writes Gilmore: "If in an opposed combat scenario, the F-35 Block 2B aircraft would need to avoid threat engagement and would require augmentation by other friendly forces."

He lists off some of the problems facing that the current version of the F-35 Block 2B, including the fact that the F-35 is unable to deploy weapons or defensive countermeasures while flying at its maximum speed—pilots will need to slow down from the F-35's max speed of Mach 1.6 to Mach 1.2 or less in order to fire.

Software bugs continue to plague the fighter as well, with 11 out of 12 weapons tested during Block 2B evaluation severely hampered. The software malfunctions, Gilmore writes, "required intervention by the developmental test control team to overcome system deficiencies and ensure a successful event (i.e., acquire and identify the target and engage it with a weapon)."

More troubling are the overheating issues, which have been known about for years and have yet to be fixed. The F-35's weapons bay can overheat if if the plane is maintaining high speeds at an altitude of under 25,000 feet and an atmospheric temperature 90° F or greater. The trouble occurs if the plane's weapon day doors are closed for upwards of 10 minutes, and opening the bay doors negates the F-35s stealth capabilities. The F-35 is also unable to pull more than 3.8 Gs with a fully loaded fuel tank, due to known problems with with the fuel tank siphon. The plane can only pull its maximum of 7 Gs once its fuel tanks are at least 45 percent empty.

According to Gilmore, the root of many of these problems is that each bit of the F-35 has been built with with an eye towards passing individual tests instead of "combat readiness." Gilmore also writes that the F-35 testing team put its thumb on the scale during tests. According to the Gilmore, testing operators made allowances for faults during some tests. "Obviously," states the report, "none of this test team intervention would be possible in combat."

Furthermore, Gilmore states that the current timeline for development the further refined F-35 Block 3F—which would be the version ready for export and for use in the Navy—is unrealistic. A planned simulator was delayed and eventually scrapped, which means pilots will either need to wait for a new simulator, or undergo expensive live testing instead. Per Gilmore, the current plan to begin full-scale testing to the ready-for-market version of the F-35 must be pushed back from August 2017 to August 2018.

Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, the F-35 program's executive officer, issued an official response, defending the plane and efforts made by the team. "Although [the Pentagon's] report is factually accurate," he writes, "it does not fully address program efforts to resolve known technical challenges and schedule risks. It is the F-35 Joint Program Office's responsibility to find developmental issues, resolve them and execute with the time and budget we have been given."

 

[500]

Beauty

 

[Fenrir]

F-35 Makes First Transatlantic Crossing

An Italian Air Force F-35 completed the fighter jet’s first transatlantic crossing Friday, a historic event that kicks off a landmark year for the international program.

The aircraft, an Italian Air Force F-35A dubbed AL-1, touched down here Feb. 5 after a seven-hour flight from Lajes Air Base, Portugal. The plane, which began its journey from Cameri Air Base in Italy, on Tuesday, was scheduled to arrive here on Wednesday, but was delayed due to weather and maintenance issues.

Despite a turbulent flight with headwinds of 120 knots, the plane performed well during both legs of the journey, Major Gianmarco, whose call sign is “Ninja,” the first Italian Air Force F-35 pilot, told reporters. The F-35, which flew with two C-130s, a Eurofighter Typhoon and two Italian tankers, required three aerial refuelings on the trip from Cameri to Lajes, and another four on the final leg, he said.

The event marks two firsts for the program – AL-1 is not only the first F-35 ever to cross the Atlantic Ocean, but it is also the first F-35 built overseas, at the Cameri Final Assembly and Check-Out facility. Gianmarco expressed pride that the first-ever F-35 to cross the pond is an Italian aircraft, flown by an Italian pilot.

https://www.f35.com/news/detail/f-35-makes-first-transatlantic-crossing

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[500]

F-35 Lightning II World-Wide Fleet Exceeds 50,000 Flying Hours

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- F-35 Lightning II aircraft operating at 12 different locations worldwide surpassed the 50,000 flight hour mark this month.

The first flight hour was achieved by an F-35B aircraft, BF-1, June 1, 2008. The 25,000 flight hour milestone occurred in December 2014, six years and six months later. As a sign of program growth and maturity, the second 25,000 flight hours were reached only one year and two months later.

"The F-35 program continues to grow and accelerate as we complete additional flight testing and increase deliveries to our U.S. and partner warfighters," said Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, F-35 Joint Program Executive Officer. "The next 50,000 hours will be achieved much quicker as we double the size of the F-35 fleet worldwide in the next three years alone."

Flight hours are divided into two main categories: Operational flying hours, flown by 155 jets delivered to six different nations, and System Development and Demonstration (SDD) flight test hours, flown by 18 aircraft assigned to the Integrated Test Forces at Edwards AFB, and NAS Pax River. Of the 50,000 hours, operational jets flew approximately 37,950 hours while SDD aircraft flew 12,050 hours. More than one third of the program's flight hours were flown in 2015 alone. Among the three variants, approximately 26,000 hours were flown by the F-35A, 18,000 hours by the F-35B and 6,000 by the F-35C.

F-35s are flying at eight operating locations: Edwards Air Force Base, California, Eglin AFB, Florida, Hill AFB, Utah, Luke AFB, Arizona, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, MCAS Yuma, Arizona, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, and Nellis AFB, Nevada. Jets are also flown at two F-35 depot locations at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, and the Ogden Air Logistics Complex at Hill AFB, Utah. Flight hours were also recorded at the two F-35 production facilities at Cameri, Italy, and Fort Worth, Texas.

To date, more than 250 F-35 pilots and 2,400 aircraft maintainers from six nations are trained and more than 110 jets are jointly under construction at both production facilities.

Three distinct variants of the F-35 will replace the F-16 Fighting Falcon and A/OA-10 Thunderbolt II for the U.S. Air Force, the F/A-18 Hornet for the U.S. Navy, the F/A-18 and AV-8B Harrier for the U.S. Marine Corps, and a variety of fighters for at least ten other countries. Following the U.S. Marine Corps' July 2015 combat-ready Initial Operational Capability (IOC) declaration, the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy intend to attain service IOC this summer and in 2018, respectively.

F-35 Lightning II World-Wide Fleet Exceeds 50,000 Flying Hours -- ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

 

[Penguin]

ROME, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- An Italian Air Force F-35 flew from Cameri Air Force Base, Italy to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., completing the program's first transatlantic flight. The F-35, designated AL-1, was assisted by an Italian Air Force KC-767 aerial refueling tanker, which refueled the fighter jet seven times during the ocean crossing. The fighter was flown by Italian Air Force pilot Major Gian Marco D., who accumulated 50 flight hours with an F-35 during his training at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. "The efficiency and reliability of the aircraft has been 100 percent - we had no issues at all," Marco said.
Italian F-35 completes first transatlantic flight - UPI.com

 

[Penguin]

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 11 (UPI) -- The global fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft has accumulated over 50,000 flight hours from 12 different locations. The program's flight hours are divided into two categories, which include Operational flying hours and System Development and Demonstration flight test hours. Operational flying hours make up the bulk of the count, accumulating approximately 37,950 hours with SDD aircraft flying 12,050.
Worldwide F-35 fleet exceeds 50,000 flight hours - UPI.com

 

[Penguin]

Bogdan Predicts F-35s For Less Than $80M, Engines Included!

 

[cerberus]

F-35 LCC According To United States Government Accountability Office Report to Congressional Committees in 2011

 

[hibiny]

Media said, that Pentagon Chief Sells Lockheed F-35 as Best, Even Affordable, Jet

 

[500]

Proving the F-35's Capabilities
Extensive Ground and Air Trials
From flight sciences to mission systems testing, the critical work of the F-35 test teams clears the way for capabilities to be delivered to the training and operational F-35 fleets. With the United States Marine Corps declaring initial operational capability (IOC) in 2015, and the United States Air Force expected to declare IOC in 2016, the role of the Integrated Test Force is more important than ever.

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At Edwards Air Force Base, California, and Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, the Integrated Test Force teams are testing all three F-35 variants and their mission systems. Flight sciences aircraft testing continues to expand the edges of the F-35's flight envelope and enhance maneuverability within the boundaries.

Some of the most recent flight test achievements include:

F-35 Mission Systems

• Completed seven Weapon Delivery Accuracy (WDA) events
• Completed air-to-surface and air-to-air Infrared Counter Measure testing
• Completed first Foreign Military Sales AIM-120 Live Fire
• Completed Block 2B flight testing for 2B fleet release and USMC Initial Operational Capability
• Performed Gen III Helmet Mounted Display testing, including night, formation, aerial refueling, and approaches

F-35A

• Completed F-35A 3F high angle of attack and performance testing
• Completed aerial refueling certification for the F-35 with the Australian tanker (KC-30A) and Italian tanker (KC-767) testing, including night operations
• Performed 13 weapons separations in 2015; completed GBU-31 and GBU-39 weapons separations
• Accomplished the first aerial gun fire

F-35B

• Completed F-35B 3F flutter testing
• Completed F-35B 3F External Air to Ground Loads testing
• Accomplished eight weapon separations, including the first Paveway IV safe separation
• Accomplished the first ski jump

F-35C

• Completed F-35C DT-II Ship Trials aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69)
• Completed wet runway testing at Edwards AFB
• Completed F-35C 3F flutter and performance testing
• Accomplished five weapon separations, including the first external separation from an F-35C

Ground and Lab Tests
Six static airframes, dozens of integrated ground test labs and several specialized test facilities are dedicated to the System Development and Demonstration phase of the F-35 program. The static aircraft undergo exhaustive structural testing to prove the strength of the airframe design. The labs test all software updates before they are flight tested, an important step for the millions of lines of complex code required to control F-35 flight systems, integrate missions systems and support the Autonomic Logistics Information System.

https://www.f35.com/about/life-cycle/testing

 

[MICA]

The Aviationist » “Here’s what I’ve learned so far dogfighting in the F-35”: a JSF pilot’s first-hand account

Good read ..

 

[Nattmara]

Third-gen helmet for the F-35.

@500 I've noticed some members of the Israeli cabinet are trying to get you guys to back out of the F-35 procurement, is there a chance this gains traction and Israel pull out? And if there's a chance, likely or not, what's the alternative that Israel would explore.

Give it's just several members of the Cabinet, I can't image any withdrawal of the F-35 procurement is imminent or likely.