"The Israeli pilots would utilize the F-35 more effectively than others"
In an exclusive interview to Israel Defense, Gen. (ret.) Gary North, Lockheed Martin's VP for Customer Requirements, spoke on the current state and future challenges of the F-35 project. Towards the 2nd International Conference for Air Power to be held tomorrow in Tel Aviv
Dan Arkin | 3/05/2017
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Israel's F-35 'Adir' (Photo: Lockheed Martin)
Before departing on his way to Israel, Gen. (ret.) Gary North paid a visit to the F-35 production line at Lockheed Martin's massive plant in Fort Worth, Texas. He inspected the seven stealth fighters whose assembling positions proudly display the Israeli flag. These seven aircraft will emerge as Adir fighters in the course of this year, and then fly from Texas to the Nevatim airbase in Israel, to join the IAF's Golden Eagle Squadron to which two such fighters have already been delivered.
Gen. (ret.) North, a former USAF four-star general and fighter pilot, flew F-4 Phantoms, F-15, and F-16 fighters. He had commanded squadrons and airbases, logging 4,700 flight hours and 83 combat missions during two wars in Iraq. North had served in senior positions, including commander of the USAF Pacific Forces and commander of the USAF forces in the Middle East between 2006 and 2009. After 36 years of military service, North joined the Lockheed Martin Corporation, where he serves as Vice President in charge of two activities: relations with overseas F-35 customers and cooperative alliances between the F-35 stealth fighter project and industries worldwide, including the contributions of six Israeli industries, notably IAI and Elbit Systems, which contribute some of their best products to the Adir fighter project.
Gen. (ret.) North has nothing but praise for the Israeli crews operating their two Adir fighters at the Nevatim airbase. "Your pilots have already logged more than 50 flight hours on the aircraft, including night flights. I know they are already flying in an almost fully operational mode. They excelled during their training periods in the USA, and I am convinced that they are diligently studying the capabilities of the aircraft, and that they would utilize it more effectively than others."
Gen. (ret.) North met with
Israel Defense for an in-depth conversation, to discuss all of the aspects of the F-35 project that has everything: unique, unprecedented technologies, a fifth-generation fighter aircraft, which is completely dissimilar to the fourth-generation fighters, and a response to the threats of the 21st century. However, the project has also involved delays, postponements, malfunctions and criticism from within and from without, in the USA as well as from customers, including Israel. The criticism voiced in Israel has focused mainly not on the characteristics of the aircraft but rather on the number of costly Adir fighters the State of Israel needs. Israel had ordered 33 stealth fighters, and subsequently made another order for an additional 17, namely – two F-35 squadrons with 25 fighters each, and a third squadron has already been mentioned. Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman pledged his support, while others said it was "unnecessary and too costly." The final decision will be made at a later date.
There are good news and bad news: the good news – you have delivered the 200th F-35 fighter to a customer (Japan Air Force) and deployed two fighters operationally overseas for the first time (at an airbase in Japan). The bad news – a recently published DOD report lists some 270 faults in this aircraft. What is the current status of the project?
"We are marching confidently toward the completion of the aircraft development phase. This is the global picture in numbers: 380 pilots fly the F-35 fighter, 3,700 maintenance personnel maintain it, the pilots have thus far logged 78,000 flight hours. Seven countries are flying this aircraft. USMC and USAF have already declared 'Initial Operational Capability' status for their models. Seven air forces operate this aircraft out of ten airbases worldwide. The Marines (USMC) already have an actual operational squadron, and they have landed on an amphibious naval vessel. The Israeli pilots have already performed night flights.
"Regarding the faults listed in the report. Firstly, the number of faults had dropped from 900 to 270. Secondly – we are thoroughly familiar with all of the faults and we had been aware of them prior to the report by Dr. Gilmore. He mentions, for instance, faults in the aircraft software. All of the features are still under development. We have been flying F-16 fighters for 40 years and are still developing and upgrading the software elements for the more advanced blocks. The F-35 is designed and built to assimilate new software elements and technologies all the time.
"I would like to remind you that each F-35 aircraft has 80,000 (!) test points. In this project, we at Lockheed Martin adopted a new method, whose primary feature is acquisition and deployment prior to completion of development. We did it pursuant to the requirements of the number 1 customer for this aircraft, US DOD. During the development process we had implemented some very strict criteria: we examined the fighter's performance not just over two life cycles, as required, but over three life cycles. Israel, for example, aspires for logistic independence. You want to maintain the Adir fighters in Israel rather than at the overseas maintenance centers. This compelled us to plan very strict logistics, including spare part inventories. As a past commander of fighter squadrons and airbases, I know very well that if you failed to plan your spare part inventory properly – you would be in trouble.
"To conclude my response regarding the 270 fault report: 12 air forces, including the Israeli Air Force, have acquired and are acquiring an aircraft that is still under development, and development has been stepped up considerably this year. No one has purchased the F-35 off-the-shelf, as was the case with the acquisition of the fourth-generation fighters. The customers are fully aware of the fact that the faults have been and will be addressed. We do not ignore the critical reports regarding the project – on the contrary. We study them thoroughly and implement as necessary. The main thing is the customer, however – the air forces operating these aircraft. We communicate with all of them and are very attentive regarding the feedback received from customers around the world. Moreover – our customers are a part of the troubleshooting process. Commanders in the IAF stress the advantages of the fact that the development of the aircraft has not been completed yet, as this helps the IAF specialists fit the aircraft with the systems in which they are interested, improve and address faults."
IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel (who has already flown the Adir fighter) said that the F-35 is much more than a platform and that it possesses capabilities that the fourth-generation fighters, the F-15I and F-16I do not possess.
"Let me begin with a story about a friend and colleague, a USAF general and fighter pilot who had flown many aircraft types and is an expert on airborne weapon systems. After 50 hours flying the F-35, I asked for his impressions. Here is what he had to say: 'This is unbelievable, much better than anything any pilot could have wished for himself. I felt like a sniper wearing a Ghillie suit, effectively concealed and camouflaged and seeing three enemy snipers fully exposed on the ground. I can see them but they cannot see me. That's how it is with the F-35. Its pilot is invisible. That is the stealth characteristic and it is improving with the aircraft coming off the production line. This aircraft makes the decisions as to when and where to launch (munitions). It is an evolutionary and revolutionary aircraft. It is revolutionary owing to the fact that it collects intelligence and it can be improved and upgraded all the time, on the move'. This was the statement of opinion of my general friend.
"With regard to the intelligence gathering aspect: the key word with the F-35 is sensor fusion. This aircraft arrives at the target area undetected, and using its built-in cameras (six in each aircraft), sensors and electronics, it can penetrate even areas heavily defended by air-defense systems. The aircraft collects information, photographs and records the input, and using datalink channels it transmits the information and data to other users in the air, to neighboring aircraft or to ground elements – command centers, decision makers – or to naval vessels at sea. Anyone sharing the communication networks (Network Centric Warfare) can receive the information collected by the F-35 aircraft, and it does everything on its own, with minimum involvement on the pilot's part. Admittedly, the pilot of a fourth-generation fighter receives a lot of information from sensors and other on-board sources, but he still has to monitor several display screens and attempt to translate the information and understand it in order to make decisions. With the F-35, the pilot is exempt from all of that, the systems do the intelligence gathering and dissemination work for him and he can focus on flying, on his environment and on his targets."
"The Helmet is a Technological Wonder"
"The State of Israel is very close, geographically, to sources of hostile threats. It must, therefore, be constantly alert and aware of the possibility of an attack. In the military, they teach you that a commander must always think as if the attack begins tonight. Therefore the most important dimension is collecting the information, the intelligence and the data, disseminating the information to its users and analyzing it as a basis for decision making. The Adir fighter can collect information regarding the enemy positions, Radar stations or any other targets and transmit this information to the intelligence users. All of that and we have not even started talking about the F-35 as a fighter aircraft capable of engaging enemy aircraft and destroying ground targets. Fourth-generation fighters can do that, too, but the intelligence gathering capabilities are unique to fifth-generation aircraft. When you face a highly mobile enemy environment, when every battery can move out at any moment – it is highly important to transmit the information quickly from the aircraft that views the target to a Jeep or an armored vehicle on the ground, to a command center or to a naval vessel. In this context, the time dimension is very important.
"In Iraq, I flew various fighter aircraft. Back then, our motto was 'Use your eyes to see the targets'. The F-35 has many systems, cameras, and sensors that almost make human vision redundant. We said that the development of the aircraft has not been completed, but each aircraft that currently leaves Fort Worth, including your own Adir fighters, definitely possesses intelligence gathering capabilities built into the aircraft."
Dogfights are becoming rare today. The IAF has generations of pilots who never experienced a dogfight against enemy aircraft. How does the F-35 stand in this regard?
"The maneuverability of this aircraft is excellent because all of the armament is carried internally in order to maintain the stealth capability, so the aerodynamics are 'clean'. We are talking about a 9G capability. However, the fusion feature enables the pilot, in fact, to avoid an air combat encounter. Let me explain: the Radar of this aircraft is one of the best in the world. It is a stealth aircraft – it approaches and you can hardly see it. The pilot can launch munitions from very far off. There is no need for him to get close to a Russian or Chinese enemy aircraft to see the white of the enemy pilots' eyes. The pilot of a stealth fighter will aspire to destroy the enemy aircraft from a distance, without engaging in an air combat encounter. With such an aircraft we can definitely brief a young pilot and tell him: 'stay clear, avoid an air combat encounter'. I am confident that the pilots of the Israeli Air Force will develop advanced and original methods in the field of aerial warfare."
Some opinions voiced in Israel maintain that we should purchase fewer Adir fighters and more of the advanced models of the F-15.
"I flew F-15s. It is an excellent aircraft, but every country should have the platform that best suits its needs. The IAF needs a stealth aircraft possessing the capabilities I have mentioned. The Adir can carry a massive amount of ordnance when the stealth characteristic is less important and the ordnance is carried externally. Another characteristic: In Israel, you must consider situations where the airbases and their runways might be hit. In such a situation, the F-35B, capable of taking off from short runways, will offer a definite advantage. We supplied this model to the USMC Air Arm and the air forces of Britain and Italy have expressed an interest in the B type."
The wings of the F-35 and the pilots' helmets are manufactured in Israel (by IAI and Elbit Systems, respectively). Are you pleased?
"This is a massive industrial cooperative alliance, worth about four billion dollars and thousands of jobs in Israeli industries. There is no aircraft without a blue and white Israeli core – the wings and the helmet and other important systems by six Israeli industries. Lockheed Martin is delighted with the quality of the Israeli products. The helmet is a technological wonder. Linked to the cameras and sensors of the aircraft, it enables the pilot to see everything that takes place around and under the aircraft. He can see everything on the visor in front of his eyes, which is a part of the helmet. This provides unprecedented situational awareness in the aerial medium."
The price tag of this aircraft is still conceived in Israel as expensive. Is it really so?
"By the end of the decade, the price tag of an F-35 fighter will be about US$ 85 million and possibly less. At this price – which is definitely competitive – the customer will be provided with a fifth-generation fighter for the price of a fourth-generation fighter. To me, it looks like a good, reasonable deal."
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Gen. (ret.) Gary North will be one of the keynote speakers at the 2nd International Conference for Air Power, which will be held tomorrow, May 4, 2017, at the Hilton Hotel in Tel Aviv.
http://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/node/29461
