F-35 Lightning II: News thread

If you think the 200 you ordered were too expensive at 150 million US dollars each... then cancelling half of them and just buying 100 means the price for those 100 will go up dramatically and you might find yourself paying even more for much less....

The first combat use of F-35A fighter jets

The problem with the cab lights F-35 arose because of the desire to save

The problem with the cockpit lights of the unobtrusive F-35 fighters (“Military Review” previously wrote about this) arose because of the desire of the program office to save money by using cheaper materials. This writes the publication Breaking Defense, with reference to the spokesman for the project JFS Brandy Sheep.



The F-35 program office is experiencing problems associated with both the production of individual elements of the aircraft and the supply of spare parts. In 2019, the program was to reach 80% combat readiness. At the moment, the project management claims that the majority of F-35 units have reached 60% of combat readiness, some reach 70%. However, the "devil is hidden" in the wording, and in fact the combat readiness is much lower. One of the problems that prevent the program from achieving its goals is the loss of the stealth cabin's lantern.

Cabin F-35 - a complex multi-layer design. Some of the layers are responsible for ensuring that the aircraft’s hood has the same low-profile properties as the entire structure. Most of the lanterns meet the required specifications. However, a number of them began to lose their properties after only a couple of hundred hours of flying time.

The problem is because of the desire to save

The problem is caused by the detachment of part of the coating. The question does not affect the airworthiness of the flashlight or aircraft, but the loss of stealth puts the entire fighter at risk. As it turned out, the problem was in the money. More precisely, in an attempt to save.

The cause of the detachment of the coating was the sealant. When analyzing the problem, it turned out that the material originally certified for the project was replaced in 2015 with a different, cheaper one. After the problem was discovered and identified, the program office returned to the former supplier, more expensive - but more reliable. Now all cab lights subtle fighters come with a better sealant. It is expected that due to this step the number of early delaminations in the F-35 will decrease.

In addition, the government is preparing to certify coverage from another supplier. All the necessary contracts have been concluded, and tests are being carried out on compatibility of the new cover with the lantern of the F-35. Verification of technical specifications and compatibility testing of a cap from a new supplier with ejection seats is ongoing and is expected to continue until the first quarter of 2020.

Thanks to these steps, the program management expects an improvement in the supply of spare parts. The office expects to reach the expected target of 80% combat readiness in 2020.


https://topwar.ru/160522-problema-s-fonarjami-kabin-f-35-voznikla-iz-za-zhelanija-sjekonomit.html

F-35's delivered to Norway were flawed



The Norwegian Air Force is working with the United States to resolve issues with the fifth-generation F-35 fighter.
The fighters delivered by Norway are unique - they use a Kevlar braking parachute to reduce aircraft mileage at ice airfields. However, the device does not function properly.

- It does not work as we expected. The Pentagon and the Royal Air Force are coordinating efforts to solve the problem, said Norwegian military aviation commander Brigadier General Tonye Skinnarland to Defense News . She noted that the F-35 at ice airfields behaves much more stable than the F-16.

A removable brake parachute module is installed between the F-35 keels, the Kevlar dome is released by the pilot after landing and reduces the speed of the aircraft in the runway. When ordering the Norwegian Air Force fighters, they stipulated requirements for the reliability of the device: one failure per 10 thousand applications - this indicator has not yet been achieved.

- The flight tests of 2018 and the subsequent use of the aircraft in Norway showed that the current parachute does not meet the standard. The updated prototype has already been created, and by February 2020 there will be a series of ground and flight tests, ”said Brandy Schiff, spokesman for the F-35 project. Deliveries of the improved device are scheduled to begin next summer.

Norway operates 10 F-35 fighters and plans to buy another 42. According to the country's leadership, the new technology will help the kingdom "resist the dominance of Russian aviation in northern Europe." F-35s are based at Evenes airbase in the north of the country. In response to fears that the proximity of the latest fighters with powerful Russian radars might reveal the secrets of the F-35, Norwegian pilots promised to fly cautiously using radar reflectors and other countermeasures.

https://rg.ru/2019/10/14/postavlennye-norvegii-f-35-okazalis-s-izianom.html 

Isos wrote:144 millions $ per jet. That's far away from the "under 100 million $" they said during development of the program.
Will be funny to see how EU welcomes the news since they will use european aids to buy it.  

Ryan Browne
@rabrowne75
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@statedeptspox
: "The United States welcomes the Polish government’s decision to purchase 32 F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft worth $4.6 billion under the Foreign Military Sales program overseen by the U.S. Department of State..."

GarryB wrote:My understanding of that claim was in regard to ground targets... which is important because it is replacing a lot of dedicated and multirole aircraft that can engage ground targets...

The irony is that against a peer adversary then missiles are likely to be defeated so finishing off the target with cannon becomes more likely than not...

kvs wrote:The formula for this wunderwaffe

F-35 = (drinking your own propaganda koolaid) x (3rd world procurement corruption)

People think that since the yanquis spend billions on something, it must have some real super-duper technology.
No, it is an amateur level hack.   The objective is not to actually invest in the technology.  It is to invest in one's
mansions and gold stash in offshore banks.

500th F-35 fighter Delivered