The F-35 thread

Blu82 said:
Article on the future on the F-35 in the UK and includes jucy titbit on how the RAF is trying to undermine the Navy possible at Britain's expense.

Also noted that is the required for a dual supply chain if you F-35As and F-35Bs.

https://news.sky.com/story/royal-na...w-jets-that-cannot-fly-from-warships-11568074
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From what I’ve heard (from someone in the RAF who is senior enough to be in the know) this is fake news made up by the Murdoch press. It was also said the journalist concerned has previous form for bending what’s been said to suit a conclusion.
 
Looks like the Japanese are impressed with the F35, it appears they are actually tripling their original order, the (still be officially confirmed) order of B’s will also include another order of A’s. They currently have 42 on order and the next order is said to be for another 100 A’s and B’s mix.

TOKYO -- Japan is preparing to order another 100 F-35 stealth fighter jets from the U.S. to replace some of its aging F-15s, according to sources.

The plan can be considered a response to China's military buildup, as well as a nod to U.S. President Donald Trump's call for Tokyo to buy more American defense equipment. Japan already intended to procure 42 of the new fighters.

Japan's government plans to approve the purchase when it adopts new National Defense Program Guidelines at a cabinet meeting in mid-December. It will also include the F-35 order in its medium-term defense program, which covers fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2023. The government wants to obtain 42 F-35s as successors to its F-4s by fiscal 2024.

The 42 fighters Japan originally planned to buy are all F-35As, a conventional takeoff and landing variant. The additional 100 planes would include both the F-35A and F-35B, which is capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings.
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Full article: https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/In...Japan-to-order-100-more-F-35-fighters-from-US
 
The Japanese intention to buy additional F-35’s now confirmed by their government, including 42 B’s for use on their flattops.

Along with the two documents, the Cabinet on Dec. 18 also approved a plan for the Air Self-Defense Force to eventually have a total of 147 F-35s.

The ASDF is in the process of acquiring 42, with an additional 105 to be purchased from the United States. Of the new aircraft, 42 will be the F-35B STOVL aircraft, while the other 63 will be F-35As. The total cost of the additional aircraft is expected to be about 1.2 trillion yen ($10.6 billion).
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http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201812180041.html
 
There is however a distinction between maneuverability that looks cool at an airshow and useful in air combat but the above does look cool. It might also have changed significantly due to a recent software update since they now have more understanding of the air-frame.
 
Acting US Defence Secretary, whose an ex-Boeing executive (lol), doesn't seem impressed by the F-35.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/09/defense-patrick-shanahan-boeing-pentagon-1064203

In high-level Pentagon meetings, Shanahan has heavily criticized Lockheed Martin’s handling of the production of the F-35 fighter jet, which is expected to cost more than $1 trillion over the life of the program, according to one of the two sources, a former senior Defense Department official who was present.

Shanahan, this official said, called the plane “f---ed up” and argued that Lockheed — which edged out Boeing to win the competition to build the plane in October 2001 — “doesn’t know how to run a program.”
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Are you guys aware of the F-15X contract? It is currently rumored that the Pentagon wants to buy a lot of F-15X's to supplement the F-22 and F-35. They are non stealth F-15's that can carry up to 22 air to air missiles.

Source
 
Blu82 said:
Are you guys aware of the F-15X contract? It is currently rumored that the Pentagon wants to buy a lot of F-15X's to supplement the F-22 and F-35. They are non stealth F-15's that can carry up to 22 air to air missiles.

Source
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I started reading the story and almost immediately raised an eyebrow.

the War Zone says, the F-15, “could fly with eight air-to-air missiles and 28 Small Diameter Bombs (SDBs), or up to seven 2,000-lb. bombs and eight air-to-air missiles.” That’s a weapon load far greater that what earlier F-15s and existing stealth jets can carry, since they must fit their meager payloads inside internal weapons bays.
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The War Zone... up to their usual high standards... ;)

Must be Xmas decorations on the wing pylons

186E537C-B420-47C7-BC5B-5FDAE8273D51.jpeg
 
Blu82 said:
Are you guys aware of the F-15X contract? It is currently rumored that the Pentagon wants to buy a lot of F-15X's to supplement the F-22 and F-35. They are non stealth F-15's that can carry up to 22 air to air missiles.

Source
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Actually forgot to answer your actual point after being sidetracked. I don’t know how viable the “gun truck” F-15 idea is as they seem to be going down the Loyal Wingman drone concept now, where an F-35 controls multiple unmanned aircraft on a strike mission, each of which can be independently dispatched to a forward target by the F-35 pilot.

https://www.defensenews.com/unmanne...ideo-with-the-air-forces-coolest-future-tech/
 
Dave said:
I started reading the story and almost immediately raised an eyebrow.



The War Zone... up to their usual high standards... ;)

Must be Xmas decorations on the wing pylons

View attachment 605184
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I am fully aware of the theoretical F-35 payload but why risk the F-35 when a cheaper F-15 can fire via data link while the F-35 stays hidden.
 
Dave said:
The War Zone... up to their usual high standards... ;)

Must be Xmas decorations on the wing pylons
Click to expand...

I read that as referring to the stealth planes having an internal weapons payload, not the 15s.
 
Blu82 said:
I am fully aware of the theoretical F-35 payload but why risk the F-35 when a cheaper F-15 can fire via data link while the F-35 stays hidden.
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I think that is the point of using a flying missile boat. Augmenting the advantages of each platform.

The F-35 literature definitely boasts about this capability.

Putting the potential conflict of interest by the new SecDef aside, I think this is an excellent idea.
 
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