Lankan Ranger
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2009
- Messages
- 12,550
- Reaction score
- 0
Pentagon Report Slams
F-35, USAF Delays Pilot Training
The Pentagon’s schedule for buying F- 35 jets from Lockheed Martin Corp. should be given “serious reconsideration” and possibly slowed because the aircraft’s design has proven more unstable during testing than anticipated, according to a special internal report.
Some things have come into sharper focus about the state of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program in the wake of both Vice Adm. David Venlet's interview with AOL Defense and a story Monday by Tony Capaccio of Bloomberg News.
The first is that in almost 10 years of development, and despite a reportedly strong period of successful flight testing, is that the airplanes are apparently still far from ready for even really challenging testing. With 90-plus F-35s of the three variants -- really very different planes -- already built or in production, much, much more development and testing remains and, we know now, re-work too.
The much-touted ability of Lockheed Martin and its key partners to concurrently design, develop and build production aircraft was, to put it kindly, way, way oversold. Venlet said as much in his interview last week. (…/…
Capaccio's story, based on an internal Pentagon document of the kind he has a knack for getting his hands on, sheds even more light.
In one recent month, apparently October, there were 725 pending design "change requests," according to the Bloomberg piece. “These figures are indicative of the large volume of change on this program and low design maturity,” it said. (…/…
One of the big problems is with the tail hook arresting gear mechanism on the F-35C that is supposed to bring the planes to a screeching halt in landings aboard Navy carriers.
The tail hook mechanism failed all eight landing attempts in tests and requires significant and, apparently, challenging redesign of the system and perhaps the aircraft structure itself. “If this change is not successful there is risk for significant airframe structures redesign and or impacts to overall” radar signature, the report said.
The U.S. Air Force has apparently also has come to the conclusion it's a little too early to let anyone but its test pilots fly the F-35. US Air Force Secretary Michael Donley has agreed with Director of Operational Testing Michael Gilmore that the F-35 is not ready to begin pilot training at Eglin Air Force Base in Fla.
F-35 Clearly Not Ready for Prime Time (excerpt)
F-35, USAF Delays Pilot Training
The Pentagon’s schedule for buying F- 35 jets from Lockheed Martin Corp. should be given “serious reconsideration” and possibly slowed because the aircraft’s design has proven more unstable during testing than anticipated, according to a special internal report.
Some things have come into sharper focus about the state of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program in the wake of both Vice Adm. David Venlet's interview with AOL Defense and a story Monday by Tony Capaccio of Bloomberg News.
The first is that in almost 10 years of development, and despite a reportedly strong period of successful flight testing, is that the airplanes are apparently still far from ready for even really challenging testing. With 90-plus F-35s of the three variants -- really very different planes -- already built or in production, much, much more development and testing remains and, we know now, re-work too.
The much-touted ability of Lockheed Martin and its key partners to concurrently design, develop and build production aircraft was, to put it kindly, way, way oversold. Venlet said as much in his interview last week. (…/…
Capaccio's story, based on an internal Pentagon document of the kind he has a knack for getting his hands on, sheds even more light.
In one recent month, apparently October, there were 725 pending design "change requests," according to the Bloomberg piece. “These figures are indicative of the large volume of change on this program and low design maturity,” it said. (…/…
One of the big problems is with the tail hook arresting gear mechanism on the F-35C that is supposed to bring the planes to a screeching halt in landings aboard Navy carriers.
The tail hook mechanism failed all eight landing attempts in tests and requires significant and, apparently, challenging redesign of the system and perhaps the aircraft structure itself. “If this change is not successful there is risk for significant airframe structures redesign and or impacts to overall” radar signature, the report said.
The U.S. Air Force has apparently also has come to the conclusion it's a little too early to let anyone but its test pilots fly the F-35. US Air Force Secretary Michael Donley has agreed with Director of Operational Testing Michael Gilmore that the F-35 is not ready to begin pilot training at Eglin Air Force Base in Fla.
F-35 Clearly Not Ready for Prime Time (excerpt)
