Leaked report details F-35 'design flaws'

[Zabaniyah]

Leaked report details F-35 'design flaws' - Defence Management

16 January 2012

Problems with the F-35's arrestor gear, fuel dump systems and helmet-mounted display could all have "major consequences" on the production of the fighter, according to a leaked Pentagon report.

The Pentagon's F-35 Concurrency Quick Look Review, produced on 29 November last year, identified 13 problems in the design of the Joint Strike Fighter and called into question the decision to mass produce the fighter before the design had reached "maturity" or the testing programme was complete.

The UK's first two Joint Strike Fighters, the F-35B Short Take Off and Vertical Landing variants have already been produced and are set to be delivered later this year.

A significant problem was found with the F-35C carrier variant, which will make up the remainder of the Royal Navy's £5bn order for the fighter, with the placing of the arrestor hook too close to the aircraft's wheels said to be causing difficulty with landings. Eight simulated landings have reportedly failed as a result of this flaw.


"The program is revising the hook point and hold-down damper design, however, if this change is not successful there is risk for significant airframe structures redesign and/or impacts to overall signature," the report said.

This problem, as well as issues with all variants' helmet mounted display, fuel dump subsystems - which it says could create a fire risk due to the "wetting of external surfaces" - and integrated power package, could have "major consequences", according to the report. A further 'classified issue' was also said to have been found and further problems may still be discovered.

"The F-35 program has discovered and is continuing to discover issues at a rate more typical of early design experience on previous aircraft development programs, which calls into question the assumed design maturity which supported the decision to conduct significant concurrent production," the report said.

As well as the five major issues, the report identified a further eight risks to the program, including three issues which could have "potentially major consequences", including buffeting, fatigue life and test execution.

Five issues where the cost to the programme is moderate but the number of issues poses a "cumulative concurrency risk" were identified as: software, weight management, thermal concerns, the aircraft's autonomic logistics information system and lightning protection.

The report said that to fix issues through the production line could take between six months and two years.

While there were no "fundamental" design risks that would lead to production having to cease, the report said that "the combined impact of these issues results in a lack of confidence in the design stability".

"The QLR team concludes that this lack of confidence, in conjunction with the concurrency driven consequences of the required fixes, supports serious reconsideration of procurement and production planning."

 

[Indian Army]

Navy's £5bn Harrier jet replacement 'unable to land on aircraft carriers'

The Royal Navy's multi-billion pound fighter plane programme is under threat amid claims that its new all-purpose jets cannot land on aircraft carriers, it has emerged.

F-35 Lightning II planes arriving at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Britain is due to buy around 50 of the aircraft.

Leaked Pentagon documents claim a design flaw in the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) has caused eight simulated landings to fail.
The “F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Concurrency Quick Look Review” claimed the flaw meant that the “arrestor” hook, used to stop the plane during landing, was too close to the plane’s wheels.
When a fighter lands on an aircraft carrier an arrestor cable catches the hook on the back of the aircraft, preventing it from overshooting and ditching into the sea.
The documents warn of "major consequences" to the aircraft’s structure and cast doubt on the readiness of the JSF to provide close-air support, which is seen as critical to a carrier’s role in providing amphibious landings.
The review further suggests the planes will be unable to fire the British Asraam air-to-air missile.

It adds that the F-35C remains untested in several areas, concluding that "there is a high likelihood of future failures that are not yet identified".
The report, seen by the Sunday Times newspaper, concludes that unless a "significant redesign" of the aircraft is urgently completed the future of the aircraft is at risk.
If such a redesign is proven to be too costly or difficult to implement, it warns that the entire F-35C programme may have to be scrapped.
Britain is due to buy around 50 aircraft at a total cost of about £5 billion but senior Navy sources admitted last night that on current budget, the MoD will have just six available by 2020.
They also told The Daily Telegraph that the flaws could place the entire JSF programme in jeopardy amid fears it could be axed all together despite billions of pounds spent by the British and American governments and other “partner nations”.
They further suggested that the flaws could also have major implications for the Royal Air Force and its manned fighter programmes. Labour called on the government to “come clean on the full impact of the defence review”.
Jim Murphy, the shadow defence secretary, said: "An island nation like ours should be able to operate aeroplanes from an aircraft carrier.
"The government must come clean on the full impact of the defence review. It's essential we know how long we will be without carrier strike capability."
On Sunday night a Ministry of Defence spokesman declined to comment on the leaked report.
But he added that Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, met his American counterpart, Leon Panetta, during a visit to Washington last month to “discuss a number of issues including the joint Strike Fighter”.
"We are taking delivery of our first Joint Strike Fighters for test and evaluation purposes this year and are committed to purchasing the carrier variant of the JSF,” he said.
“Our plans remain on track to have a new carrier strike capability from around 2020.”

Navy's £5bn Harrier jet replacement 'unable to land on aircraft carriers' - Telegraph