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The F-35 thread
- Thread starter snoopdoggydog
- Start date
Dave
Honorary Master
American business terms are screwed up, they've been building them as LRIP (Low Rate Initial Production) even though they have built more than some other military aircraft have had built in total. (Around 750 built so far iirc).
Covid supposedly pushed FRP-1 (Full Rate Production) back and it's supposed to be starting this year now.
Arthur
Honorary Master
After years of dilly-dallying the German defence ministry announced today that the Luftwaffe will acquire the F-35A to replace its ageing Tornado nuclear strike fighters.
Dave
Honorary Master
Canada will be buying the F-35.
Dave
Honorary Master
Dave
Honorary Master
Dave
Honorary Master
Good use for the original non-upgradeable first tranche jets.
www.airforcemag.com
“Due to the growing threat posed by [Chinese] fifth and sixth-gen fighter development, we must use a portion of our daily fifth-generation aircraft today at Langley, Elmendorf, Hill, Eielson, and now Nellis, to replicate adversary fifth-generation capabilities,” Kelly said, according to a release. “Precisely because we have this credible threat, when we do replicate a fifth-gen. adversary, it has to be done professionally. That’s the Aggressors.”
The 65th AS will provide USAF with fifth-generation “red air” to replicate the advanced threats posed by other fifth-gen fighters from China and Russia.
“Using the F-35 as an aggressor allows pilots to train against low-observable threats similar to what adversaries are developing,” Col. Scott Mills, 57th Operations Group commander, said in a statement.
The F-35s that will make up the 65th Aggressor Squadron are slated to be non-combat-coded aircraft—original plans called for nine to transfer from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
At Nellis, the fifth-gen fighters will help train students at the Air Force Weapons School and also assist in Red Flag exercises, among other exercises and training events. In doing so, they’ll also help train pilots from other services and allies, Mills said.
First-Ever F-35 Aggressor Squadron Stands Up at Nellis | Air & Space Forces Magazine
The 65th Aggressor Squadron reactivated at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., with F-35 fighters to use as “red air.”
www.airforcemag.com
“Due to the growing threat posed by [Chinese] fifth and sixth-gen fighter development, we must use a portion of our daily fifth-generation aircraft today at Langley, Elmendorf, Hill, Eielson, and now Nellis, to replicate adversary fifth-generation capabilities,” Kelly said, according to a release. “Precisely because we have this credible threat, when we do replicate a fifth-gen. adversary, it has to be done professionally. That’s the Aggressors.”
The 65th AS will provide USAF with fifth-generation “red air” to replicate the advanced threats posed by other fifth-gen fighters from China and Russia.
“Using the F-35 as an aggressor allows pilots to train against low-observable threats similar to what adversaries are developing,” Col. Scott Mills, 57th Operations Group commander, said in a statement.
The F-35s that will make up the 65th Aggressor Squadron are slated to be non-combat-coded aircraft—original plans called for nine to transfer from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
At Nellis, the fifth-gen fighters will help train students at the Air Force Weapons School and also assist in Red Flag exercises, among other exercises and training events. In doing so, they’ll also help train pilots from other services and allies, Mills said.
Dave
Honorary Master
Dave
Honorary Master
According to an RAF pilot it isn't the big issue the press are making it to be.
The issue is with a specific batch of Martin Baker cartridges and the serials are known. The RAF planes that were affected were checked and put back into service in less than 48 hours.
It is not a big issue until you have to eject.
Dave
Honorary Master
Not a big issue as in very quick to be checked and rectified.
Blu82
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Sucks to be the pilot that found the problem. It is a easy fix though.
Dave
Honorary Master
Fortunately discovered in a routine service and not a bang out by a pilot.
Air Force F-35s Grounded as Search for Faulty Ejection Seat Parts Widens | Air & Space Forces Magazine
The Air Force has grounded its F-35A fighters as it checks for potentially faulty parts in the type’s Martin-Baker ejection seats.
www.airforcemag.com
ACC said it has known about the potential problem since April, when a routine inspection found a defective cartridge at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.
The general stand-down was ordered July 29 “to expedite the inspection process,” the spokeswoman said. The command could not say how long it expected the inspections to take, as a count of how many had already been inspected was not immediately available. The Air Force has about 475 F-35s.
A USAF spokesperson said “this is properly called a stand-down” rather than a grounding because the aircraft can resume flying after an inspection shows that they’re safe to operate.
During the Hill inspection in April, a single cartridge-actuated device, or CAD, on an F-35 seat was found to have an insufficient amount of explosive powder, a Martin-Baker spokesman said.
“It was incomplete; it was not finished,” he noted.
Since then, factory records and lots have been checked, and USAF F-35As have subsequently been inspected “out of an abundance of caution.”
The process requires taking a jet out of service for about a day, as the seat must be fully removed from the aircraft to get at the parts, which can then be accessed “in a few seconds,” the spokesman said. Each seat has two CADs, which help propel the seat out of the aircraft if the pilot commands an ejection.
There are ways to determine from a visual inspection whether the CAD is defective, the Martin-Baker spokesman said. If maintainers are still in doubt, they can perform an X-ray to establish that the proper amount of powder is in the cartridge.
Aircraft found not to have faulty cartridges can return to flying immediately. If a cartridge is suspect, a replacement is installed.
“They’ve done about 70 percent of the fleet already,” the Martin-Baker spokesman said of USAF’s F-35s. “Only a very small number” of problematic cartridges have been identified, and “they have plenty to replace them.”
Dave
Honorary Master
New "paint" job for the F-35 coming?
www.thedrive.com
Navy F-35C Surfaces Wearing New Mirror-Like Skin (Updated)
The 'chrome' F-35C recently arrived at Point Mugu in California, which is hosting other specialized test aircraft for a major exercise.
www.thedrive.com
Dave
Honorary Master
I tend to think the author hasn't really done their homework when the "f-35 has short legs" statement is made and then wonder what else is just opinion or incorrect.
No one complained about the FA-18 combat range and yet the F-35 exceeds it...
Pegging
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Swiss are buying 36
www.reuters.com
Swiss parliament approves $5.5 bln purchase of F-35 fighters
The Swiss parliament gave final approval on Thursday to buy 36 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighter jets, pressing ahead without waiting for a referendum on the $5.5 billion deal.
www.reuters.com