US Close-Air Support Bomb Doesn't Fit on the F-35

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Oops: US Close-Air Support Bomb Doesn't Fit on the F-35
Plus, the F-35 won’t receive the necessary software for full close-air support until 2022.

By Franz-Stefan Gady
March 14, 2015
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The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will not receive the software package required to operate the Pentagon’s top close-air support bomb until 2022, according tomilitary.com.

The article also stated that the JSF office already had discovered earlier that the precision-guided air-dropped Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II) does not fit onto Joint Strike Fighter Marine Corps variant without modifications to the aircraft’s weapons bay.

Yet the Department of Defense will wait until the F-35 B (the Marine Corps variant of the F-35) reaches initial operability before modifying the F-35’s armament bay, since the weapon will be useless without the right software package.

The various systems of the plane require more than 10 billion individual lines of code, all of which are broken down by the developers into individual blocks numbered 1 to 4, then further subdivided into letters. Block 4 A will be ready by approximately 2022, and Block 4 B is slated to be completed by 2023.

Air Force Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle, Commander of Air Combat Command, noted cautiously: “When we get to the Block 4s of the F-35s those are going to be great CAS (close air support) platforms — when we get there. So we’ve got to continue to move down that with respect to the systems.”

He also reiterated the special capabilities of the new bomb, which includes a guidance system capable of directing the weapon using millimeter wave radar, among other cutting-edge technologies.

“Really, in the close-in CAS fight, and the most challenging being danger close where you have adversaries and friendlies in very close proximity — we have to be able to support the ground component at that point. We need the ability to deliver weapons rapidly. We need the high magazine, we need precision and we need to be able to control the yield,” the general notes.

The article quotes JSF officials who emphasize that that the F-35 will have close-air support capabilities by the time it reaches full operational capability in 2018 including, “the ability to fire an internal gun and drop a range of munitions including AIM-9X weapons, AMRAAMs, GBU 12s, GBU 31s and the Small Diameter Bomb I.”

The Small Diameter Bomb II can fly over 45 miles, “reducing aircrews’ time in harm’s way,” according to Raytheon, the military contractor building the weapon. “The weapon’s small size allows fewer aircraft to take out the same number of targets as previous, larger weapons that required multiple jets,” the company website further notes.

The Pentagon is planning to acquire 12,000 SDB IIs by 2017.

 

[Hindustani78]

Pentagon: Here are all the problems with the F-35 - Business Insider

The US military's fifth-generation fighter is no stranger to controversy.

The F-35, which comes with an estimated $1.5 trillion pricetag over the life of the program, has faced numerous hurdles and delays. Most recently, there have been concerns over its computer systems' vulnerability, and Chinese hackers have possibly stolen classified data related to the project.

The F-35's construction has continued, and it is being manufactured across multiple states and different countries. For better or worse, it's going to be the US and its allies' main warplane for decades to come.

Despite the setbacks, the F-35 program is continuing and the Navy, Marines, and Air Force are all busy testing their version of the aircraft. But just because the military is sticking to the F-35 doesn't mean it isn't acutely aware of the plane's myriad problems.

During the live flight testings in 2014, the Department of Defense's Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation compiled a report on the progress and failures of the F-35 program.

Here are some of the key problems that the Pentagon identified.

Software delays

Lockheed Martin/US Navy

The Pentagon discovered deficiencies in the plane's Block 2B software system. Block 2B oversees the plane's initial warfare capabilities, like its various data links and live-weapon firing system. The worst deficiencies were found in the Block 2B's navigation and accuracy software aspects. These software problems slowed weapons integration and flight-testing, and with it the entire aircraft's development.

Block 2B also encountered issues with weapon delivery accuracy. The software still had trouble in the use of radar, passive sensors, friend-or-foe identification, and electro-optical targeting.

The 2BS5 software package, which deals with sensors, also continues to run into difficulties. According to the report, "fusion of information from own-ship sensors, as well as fusion of information from off-board sensors is still deficient. The Distributed Aperture System continues to exhibit high false-alarm rates and false target tracks, and poor stability performance, even in later versions of software."

F-35B fuel tank redesign

Reuters

The F-35B was given a redesigned fuel tank ullage inerting system for the fuel systems simulator – in English, this is the part of the plane that prevents potentially explosive interactions of oxygen and gasses in the aicraft's fuel tanks and intake. Further tests showed that the redesigned system had problems in aircraft integration that would require further hardware and software modifications.

Lightning protection

Liz Kaszynski/Lockheed MartinThe fifth Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II Short Take Off/Vertical Landing flight test aircraft delivered to the Marine Corps arrives at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Md.,

The F-35B did not maintain "residual inerting after flight for the required interval of 12 hours, which is a lightning protection requirement." In other words, the plane would be vulnerable to lightning strike if it were forced to fly twice in a 12-hour span, unless the fuel tanks were frequently "purged" with "external nitrogen."

That's apparently an unacceptable additional layer of maintenance. If a solution is not found, F-35Bs will require the development of alternate lightning protection methods.

Flight control problems

Andy Wolfe/US Navy

The F-35B encountered difficulties carrying out attacks at certain angles during intense aerial conditions due to a degradation in the flight control system as missions progressed.

Helmet display issues

Michael Jackson/US Navy

Onboard testing on the F-35C revealed problems with the helmet, which is designed to display critical information related to the aircraft.

During basic offensive and defensive maneuvers, the conditions negatively effected the display, a problem that could have "the greatest impact in scenarios where a pilot was maneuvering to defeat a missile shot."

Numerous components of the aircraft are unreliable

Flickr/US Navy An F-35B test aircraft completes its 100th flight with Lockheed Martin test pilot David "Doc" Nelson at the controls.

The F-35 has a number of components that require maintenance more frequently than desired.

According to the Pentagon report, all variants have reliability issues with their avionics processors, landing gear tires, thermal management systems, ejection seat assemblies, cockpit display electronics unit, helmet display units, seat survival kits, igniter-spark in the turbine engines, and on-board oxygen generating systems.

The unreliability of these systems increases maintenance time and costs on an already expensive plane.

The Automatic Logistics Information System (ALIS)

Staff Sgt. Joely Santiago/US Air Force

ALIS is the IT backbone of the F-35. The software monitors all operations within the aircraft and provides information to pilots and ground personnel about any issues arising within the plane.

According to the report, "ALIS is behind schedule, has several capabilities delayed or deferred to later builds, and has been fielded with deficiencies." Some of these deficiencies include misrepresenting the health of F-35 aircraft. The system, which is brought on board the F-35 in flight, has also gone beyond the approved size, bulk, and weight.

 

[Hindustani78]

Luke F-35 squadron hits 1,000 sorties

By Brian Everstine on April 1, 2015 Air Education and Training Command, Air Force, Airframes

An F-35 flies over Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, on the 1,000th sortie for the base. (Senior Airman Devante Williams/Air Force)

The first operational training base for the F-35A this week hit a new milestone: 1,000 flights.

Brig. Gen. Scott Pleus, commander of the 56th Fighter Wing, on Tuesday flew the 1,000th sortie at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. It is now the fastest wing to reach 1,000 sorties in the F-35, according to the Air Force.

The flight occurred about one month before the first official class of student pilots is set to get started at the training center on base.

“With initial operational capability scheduled to occur late next year, it’s important that we get our training program and process dialed in and as efficient and refined as our F-16 training program is so we can help meet the Air Force’s scheduled goal,” Pleus said in an Air Force news release.

Luke is the base tasked with training the Air Force’s operational pilots, and is set to receive 144 of the jets by 2024. Instructor pilots have been training at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The first operational F-35 squadron will be at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.

Luke currently has 20 pilots on base, including two from the Royal Australian Air Force.