F-35 Lightning II
The latest testing report on the F-35 shows there hasn’t been appreciable improvement in the program’s overall reliability since 2016 As the F-35 program limps toward the end of its much-delayed operational testing period and subsequent full-rate production decision, unanswered questions about its combat effectiveness and suitability for service within the fleet remain. The Pentagon weapons testing office’s 2019 annual report, released earlier this year, paints a picture of an incompletely ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and the F-35 Joint Program Office delivered the 500th F-35. In February, the F-35 enterprise surpassed 250,000 flight hours. The 500th production aircraft is a U.S. Air Force F-35A, to be delivered to the Burlington Air National Guard Base in Vermont. The 500 hundred F-35s include 354 F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variants, 108 F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) variants and 38 F-35C carrier (CV) ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
In the illustrious history of the F-35 fighter jet, add a pony farm outside Berlin as the place where one company claims the plane’s stealth cover was blown. The story that follows is a snapshot in the cat-and-mouse game between combat aircraft designed to be undetectable by radar — and sensor makers seeking to undo that advantage. In the case of the F-35, the promise of invisibility to radar is ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
The US military’s F-35 Lightning II stealth aircraft have a problem with spare parts, and it’s keeping the planes out of the sky, according to a new report by a government watchdog. “F-35 aircraft were unable to fly nearly 30% of the May-November 2018 time period due to spare parts shortages,” according to an April report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The report further notes that during that time, ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
After months of warnings, the United States has stopped delivery of F-35 fighter jet parts to Turkey in retaliation for Ankara’s decision to move ahead with the purchase of a Russian surface-to-air missile system, U.S. officials said Monday. Top U.S. government leaders have repeatedly threatened to shut down Turkey’s plan to buy the F-35 advanced fighter aircraft if Turkey didn’t abandon efforts to buy the S-400 Russian system. Halting the ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
The radar wake of a Japanese F-35A stealth fighter disappeared over the Pacific Ocean about 73nm (135km) east of Misawa air base on 9 April at 19:27 local time. The Japanese military has commenced a search mission for the aircraft and its single pilot, though the country’s air force offered no details on suspected causes of the disappearance. The Lockheed Martin F-35A was engaging in night-time training with three other F-35A jets, ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
The US Navy has announced that the F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter is ready for operational use after meeting all requirements. The F-35C achieved initial operational capability (IOC) after the Navy’s first F-35C squadron, Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147, completed aircraft carrier qualifications aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighter programme, which is regarded as the country’s most ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
The most expensive weapons system around, the F-35 has been plagued by a flurry of problems which have sent the costs spiraling upward. The UK grounded its fleet of £120 million per plane ($158.5 million) F-35 stealth fighters following the crash of a US jet in September. Britain’s current fleet of 15 F-35 fighter jets that arrived in the country in June, is being examined to determine if last month’s ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
Three U.S. senators introduced a measure on Thursday aimed at blocking the transfer of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to Turkey, a NATO ally and one of nine partner nations involved in producing the high-tech, radar-evading aircraft. The bill, by Republicans James Lankford and Thom Tillis, and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, comes at a time of deteriorating relations between the United States and Turkey, which supported the fight against Islamic ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program’s goal of driving down costs is becoming a reality as the production of all three versions ramps up. As the program reaches full production during the next couple of years, the cost per-jet is expected to drop below $100 million for all three versions, said Vice Adm. Mat Winter, director of the JSF program, during a presentation at Navy League’s Sea Air ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
A Defense Contract Management Agency government flight representative landed the first Japanese-made F-35A on Misawa AB’s runway. Maj. Elijah Supper piloted the brand-new aircraft from the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Komaki South F-35 Final Assembly and Check Out facility, and was quickly joined by two F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 115th Fighter Wing, Wisconsin National Guard, there to escort the new jet across the Pacific. “This F-35 is one of the ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
The Pentagon may end up with about 200 F-35s that remain unready for war. Because of defense budget headaches, the money to fix them up is going somewhere else. The Armed Services are presently spending their money on brand new Joint Strike Fighters. That means up to $40 billion in older planes built before the F-35 design was complete could forgo upgrades meant to bring them up to the latest ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
Air Force leaders recently removed the restriction that kept pilots weighing less than 136 pounds from flying the F-35A. The restriction was imposed in 2015 due to concerns about the risk during ejections in a portion of the flight envelope. After rigorous testing to ensure the escape system works reliably and safely in all planned conditions and across all pilot weights, three distinct modifications were implemented. A switch was installed ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
Jun
04
Engine upgrades for the F-35
The F-35 joint program office is eyeing the middle of the next decade for when major upgrades to the engines on the joint strike fighter can proceed. Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, who heads the JPO head, said at last week’s Air Force Association conference that the “mid-2020s” is when the power plant on the joint strike fighter could be refreshed, whether through improvements to the Pratt & Whitney F135 design ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
