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| F-35 makes Miramar Air Show debu |
F-35 is a flying stealthy computer requiring sophisticated software to be effective.
More questions about F-35 performance | Ottawa CitizenReport cites continuing software deficiencies in F-35 | The Star Telegram
Flawed software will hobble the first of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighters to be called combat-ready, limiting the plane’s ability to drop bombs, share data with other aircraft and track enemy radar, Tony Capaccio of Bloomberg news service writes.
He noted that finding is from the Defense Department’s chief weapons tester found.
The U.S. Marine Corps plans to declare its version of the F-35 (different from the version Canada hopes to buy) ready for limited combat as soon as July, according to the Bloomberg report.
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| Block 2B is first weapon capable sytem |
In the Trenches with the F-35 - The American Interest
It takes a lot of money to keep the expensive, delay-ridden F-35 program running. Advocates of the plane, the most expensive program in U.S. military procurement history, argue that it will render all sorts of other systems obsolete because the F-35 can do it all; hence, programs like the [less expensive, proven on the battlefield] A-10 “Warthog” can be cut and their funding diverted to the jet.
But it’s far from certain that the F-35 will be as good as promised. Experts are raising doubts about virtually all of its key features:
- its stealthiness,
- its agility in dogfights,
- its speed,
- its maximum payload, and, troublingly,
- its ability to fly close air support missions that save the lives of soldiers on the ground—the sort of missions that, for example, the current U.S. campaign against ISIS is based around.
F-35 tests demonstrate Interoperability, Close Air Support | Defense Update:
Developmental testing of the Block 2B software is expected to be complete in February 2015, earlier than the DOT&E predicted in its 2013 report (May to November 2015). Moreover, the consolidation of test points from earlier blocks into 2B testing has accelerated the process, eliminating 840 test points, equivalent to four months of testing.
The review highlight concern about the ability of the aircraft to identify hostile radars, creating ‘significant operational risk to fielded unit’ the report stated that the necessary software updates will not be available until November 2015.
F-35Bs at the 2014 Miramar Air Show from SldInfo.com on Vimeo.
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA-121) at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma - is expected to be the first Marine Corps F-35 unit declared 'operationally ready' by the end of July 2015. Photo: Lockheed Martin.Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA-121) at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma – is expected to be the first Marine Corps F-35 unit declared ‘operationally ready’ by the end of July 2015. Photo: Lockheed Martin.
The F-35 Just Hit Another Snag - Business Insider
Despite the latest software flaws discovered in the F-35, Lockheed Martin spokesman Mark Johnson told Bloomberg that "2014 was a year of great momentum for the [joint strike fighter] program on all fronts.”
The Marine Corps plans on announcing that the F-35B, the F-35 variant developed for the Marines, will be ready for combat operations by July. The F-35C model for the Navy is expected to be declared combat-ready by the end of the decade.
However, the F-35A variant that was developed for the Air Force and US allies has also run into software problems. In December 2014 it was announced that the because of software issues, the plane would not be able to fire its onboard cannon until 2019.
SNAFU!: F-35 News. They program office has lost control of the message.
On that last point, the F-35 team itself seems to agree, because an explosive report this week disclosed that it has been fudging the plane’s performance numbers to bolster the case for more appropriations funding.
When will there be a Gatling Gun for CAS
A Tale of Two Gatling Guns: F-35 vs. A-10 | Defense Tech“There will be no gun until [the Joint Strike Fighter’s Block] 3F [software], there is no software to support it now or for the next four-ish years,” said one Air Force official affiliated with the F-35 program. “Block 3F is slated for release in 2019, but who knows how much that will slip?”
The F-35, in its full configuration with the Block 3F software, is designed to carry a suite of internal and external weapons, including the GPS-guided Joint Direct Attack Munition, laser-guided Paveway II bomb, Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile and infrared Sidewinder missile. The [F-35] GAU-22/A is lighter and more accurate than its predecessor, but with a reduced rate of fire of 3,300 rounds per minute. At that rate, the F-35 would be out of ammunition in about four seconds, or one or two bursts of fire.
By comparison, the 30mm, seven-barrel GAU-8/A Avenger in the nose of the venerable Warthog attack aircraft can hold as many as 1,174 rounds. It’s configured to fire at a fixed rate of fire of 3,900 rounds per minute.
Computer glitch prevents US’ most advanced F-35 fighter jet from firing until 2019 – report — RT USA
Computer glitch prevents US’ most advanced F-35 fighter jet from firing until 2019 – report | Aviation & Air Force News at DefenceTalk
F-35 program office defends gun and sensor - 1/7/2015 - Flight Global
Two critical close air support systems – a 25mm cannon and an electro-optical targeting system (EOTS) – will be available on the Lockheed Martin F-35 by 2017 and will meet expectations, say programme officials on 7 January.
The F-35 joint programme office (JPO) defended both systems against what it calls “nameless/sourceless/baseless reporting” in recent weeks, but acknowledged one new development problem for the gun and some operational limitations for the Lockheed-built EOTS sensor.
Contrary to a report that the General Dynamics GAU-22 gun is unable to be fired until 2019, the JPO says it will be delivered when the Block 3F software becomes operational. That delivery date is now scheduled in Fiscal 2017 with aircraft built in the ninth lot of low-rate initial production (LRIP-9).
The JPO says that operators accepted that timeline for the cannon system in 2005. However, in 2005, the Block 3F software was supposed to be first installed on LRIP-5 aircraft delivered in 2013. Software development was subsequently delayed by four years.
China has the F-35 Design (Maybe?)
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| U.S. Pilots Say New Chinese Stealth Fighter Could Become Equal of F-22, F-35 - USNI News |
China stole Joint Strike Fighter jet designs: NSA document leak
New leaks from former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden show China stole the designs for American-built F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
In a large top-secret document dump, provided by Snowden to German magazine Der Spiegel, the extent of the ongoing international cyber warfare between the U.S., its allies and the rest of the world has been outlined.
According to Fairfax Media, one of the confidential documents within the latest leak show Chinese spies stole "terabytes" of design and military information relating to the F-35, also known as the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. The information was used to assist in the design of China's Chengdu J-20 and the Shenyang J-31 stealth fighter jets, as long suspected by the west.
According to a top secret NSA presentation, Chinese cyber spies have stolen huge volumes of sensitive military information, including "many terabytes of data" relating to the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) - also known as the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.
China Calls Snowden's Accusations It Stole F-35 Plans 'Groundless' | Military.com
BEIJING -- China dismissed accusations it stole F-35 stealth fighter plans as groundless on Monday, after documents leaked by former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden on a cyber attack were published by a German magazine.
The Pentagon has previously acknowledged that hackers had targeted sensitive data for defense programs such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, but stopped short of publicly blaming China for the F-35 breach. The Pentagon and the jet's builder, Lockheed Martin Corp., had said no classified information was taken during the cyber intrusion.
F-35 Lightning II Flight Test Update 14 | Code One Magazine
The previous F-35 Flight Test Update concluded with F-35A test aircraft AF-3 completing 500 flight hours on 18 March 2013, making AF-3 the second mission systems test Lightning II to reach this milestone. This fourteenth installment in the series of F-35 flight testing reviews presents a large variety of additional milestones for the F-35 test fleet from a monthly flight record for the F-35 CATBird in March to the completion of the initial carrier trials for the F-35C in November.
Previously
- spendergast: Can a PM really speed up a program by cutting Operational tests?
- spendergast: US bets big for Stealth while debate goes on
- spendergast: Integrated EOTS Sensor of JSF lags podded sensors on 4th gen fighters for CAS
- spendergast: RAND -4 major programs drive AF Rapid Program Cost Growth
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