Internationale fighter ontwikkelingen

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Denmark picks F-35s instead of Super Hornet or Typhoon

Reuters / may 11, 2016

COPENHAGEN • The Danish government has picked U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin Corp. to supply 27 of its F-35 Lightning fighter jets, TV2 News said on Wednesday, citing unidentified sources.

Denmark's decision has been closely watched, as several other nations also have to decide whether to replace their aged warplanes with Lockheed Martin's brand new F-35 or choose cheaper, older-generation planes such as Super Hornets.

An expert group formed by the Danish Ministry of Defence last month concluded that the F-35 Lightning was a better option than Eurofighter's Typhoon or Boeing Co.'s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

Super Hornets are produced at Boeing's operations in north St. Louis County.

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/denmark-picks-f--s-instead-of-super-hornet-or/article_d4d93ec5-909c-5675-bb84-53102ce92111.html

[Sparkplug]

MRCA: Its Typhoon or Rafale

Marhalim Abas, Malaysia - RMAF | May 11, 2016

SHAH ALAM: DESPITE the current travails, it appears that the MRCA programme is inching towards the final stage. And the aircraft shortlisted has been cut to two. Unsurprisingly, the two are the Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale.

Industry and ministry officials said although Boeing and Saab are aware of the latest developments they are still plugging away their planes as no contract have been signed yet. That said however if the funding magically appears tomorrow, it will be either the Typhoon or Rafale that will be chosen.

The decision on the MRCA could be made soon, I am told though funding remained the biggest issue on the table. As both UK and France offers funding options under a government-to-government deal the tricky issue could be resolved, I am told.

If we go for the proposed funding options, the payment period for the aircraft may well spread out for at least 10 years based on statements made by the Defence Minister in the past. I am no finance expert but I think it could go up to 20 years. Which also mean that we will only get 18 jets only and not more.

As which one is the more likely candidate for the MRCA programme, my guess is as good as yours. Both aircraft have their own merits so at the end of the day the political considerations will tip the scale.

What about the proposals about buying Hornets from Kuwait then? That is only a proposal made in this website, it was never AFAIK considered by the government.

Furthermore, how will the MRCA programme affect other projects of the Armed Forces? Little or no impact actually as the major programmes – the AV8, A400M and LCS – are already accounted for. It is this army/air force centric funding that leaves the navy scrambling to find funds for its own recapitalisation plans. That resulted in the proposed 15 to 5 plan.

— Malaysian Defence

http://www.malaysiandefence.com/mrca-typhoon-rafale/

[Sparkplug]

F-35 locked and loaded with improved Block 3i software

By James Drew, Washington DC | 09 may 2016

The F-35 Joint Programme Office (JPO) has stabilised a glitch-prone combination of software and hardware called Block 3i, potentially clearing the way for the US Air Force's first Lightning II combat squadron to declare initial operational capability (IOC) between August and December.

F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin has been preparing the software load in parallel with the Block 2B configuration that the Marine Corps' first operational F-35B group declared war-ready status with last July.

Developmental flight testing of Block 3i started in May 2014. However, problems caused by re-hosting "immature" Block 2B software and capabilities on new computer processors installed in Block 3i aircraft caused flight testing to be restarted in September 2014 and then again in March 2015, reports the Pentagon's top weapons tester.

Developmental flight testing of Block 3i was then terminated last October and an initial version was released to F-35 units "despite unresolved deficiencies" to prevent wider schedule delays.

The programme office has been grappling with "software stability" issues ever since. Aircraft were reportedly having to shut down and reboot on the tarmac or reset a sensor system or radar "once every 4h". That is an unacceptable failure rate for an operational squadron and significantly worse fault rate compared to earlier Block 2B aircraft, which were only having to reboot once every 30h or more.

F-35 programme director Lt Gen Christopher Bogdan told Congress last month that a failure rate of once every 8-10h or greater would be more acceptable, and recent fixes now seem to have achieved that goal.


Four-ship training at Hill AFB
US Air Force

"As of 1 May, the F-35 programme has flown more than 100 flight hours with the 3i software and it has shown approximately twice the level of stability as the previously fielded Block 2B software and three times better stability than the original 3i software," says the JPO on 8 May.

Exactly 114 aircraft from low-rate production batches six, seven and eight will be upgraded to the more stable Block 3i configuration starting this week. Those production lots contained 25 internationally owned aircraft for Italy, Australia, Norway, the UK, Japan and Israel.

The programme office says the latest "stability and mission effectiveness enhancements" from this final Block 3i release have also been incorporated into a new Block 2B update that is being installed in early-model aircraft from production lots two, three, four and five.

That would affect 93 aircraft purchased in those lots, including three UK-owned short takeoff, vertical landing F-35Bs and two Dutch F-35As.


F-35, F-22, A-10 and F-16 fly in formation
US Air Force

"The entire fleet of fielded F-35 aircraft will eventually be upgraded to these two new software versions by the end of calendar year 2016," says the programme office. "Concluding Block 2B and 3i development and testing now allows the F-35 programme to focus on completing Block 3F – the full warfighting capability software. The improvements to Block 2B and 3i have been transferred to Block 3F, and all developmental test aircraft and labs have been upgraded to Block 3F."

The F-35 system development and demonstration (SDD) effort is meant to wrap up in late 2017, which is 16 years after Lockheed won the Joint Strike Fighter contract over Boeing's X-32-based proposal.

With more than 8 million lines of code controlling every onboard sensor and weapon system, the F-35 is the most complex and software-dependent fighter jet in history.


The F-22 air superiority jet and F-35 multi-role fighter were conceived as a "high-low" combat aircraft combination
US Air Force

The Hill AFB's 34th Fighter Squadron, known as the Rude Rams, reactivated last year to become the USAF's first combat-ready F-35 squadron. The unit recently began training in four-ship combat formations as well as practising detection and jamming of radar sites.

With Block 3i concerns seemingly fading, Lockheed's full efforts will likely turn to maturing Block 3F and the trouble-prone Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) that manages the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the F-35 weapon system. ALIS has long been identified as the greatest technical risk to USAF IOC.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/f-35-locked-and-loaded-with-improved-block-3i-softwa-425098/

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Warplanes: Rafale Scores Another Win

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htairfo/20160508.aspx

[Sparkplug]

USAF puts Talon HATE to the test

Jamie Hunter, London - IHS Jane's International Defence Review | 06 May 2016


422 TES F-15C serial 82-022/OT carrying the Talon HATE pod in February whilst undergoing testing at Nellis AFB. The large pod is carried on the centreline station. Source: Jamie Hunter

The US Air Force (USAF) is currently engaged in a flight test programme for its new Talon HATE pod for the F-15C Eagle. Talon HATE is a new system designed to help integrate and enhance the relationship between its two air dominance platforms - the F-15C Eagle and the F-22 Raptor.

Developed initially by the company's secretive Phantom Works as a rapid-prototyping concept, Talon HATE is a podded system that combines a covert data exchange capability with an inbuilt infrared search-and-track (IRST) sensor. It has been seen flying recently with the USAF's elite 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron (422 TES) at Nellis Air Force Base (AFB) in Nevada.

Boeing completed the final design review for Talon HATE in September 2014, although public information remains scant. Many see Talon HATE acting very much along the lines of the USAF's Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) currently deployed on E-11A, EQ-4, and WB-57 aircraft, and essentially acting as a data relay platform for a wide range of information.


The upper surface of the aircraft features a large new scabbed-on fairing. The fairing may be linked to providing all-aspect coverage of the link for the new system. (Jamie Hunter)

"The system assimilates information in real-time from multiple domains, creating an improved common operating picture for tactical awareness," said Alex Lopez, vice president, Advanced Network and Space Systems at Boeing Phantom Works.

One of the major limitations of the F-22 is its inability to communicate covertly with other aircraft types, although the F-22 features an intra-flight datalink (IFDL) that enables the aircraft to exchange data within a formation of F-22 aircraft.

Similarly, the F-22's Increment 3.2A spiral upgrade added Link 16, but only as a receive-only terminal because the non-stealthy Link-16 with its omnidirectional emissions could reveal the aircraft's location.

However, under programme director Sean Rice, the Talon HATE project has integrated the F-22's IFDL with the proven Multifunctional Information Distribution System-JTRS (MIDS-J) system. MIDS-J serves as a host for multiple concurrent communications waveforms that are essential for Talon HATE operations, with Talon HATE essentially receiving and translating the F-22 data and processing it for redistribution on MIDS/Link 16 waveforms to other friendly aircraft.

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(352 of 555 words)

http://www.janes.com/article/60050/usaf-puts-talon-hate-to-the-test

[Sparkplug]

Structural problem with Swiss Hornet raises wider fighter fleet concerns

Gareth Jennings, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly | 04 May 2016


A structural issue found on one of the Swiss Air Force's Hornet fighters has raised further concerns as to the long-term viability of the country's frontline fighter force. Source: IHS/Patrick Allen

The Swiss Air Force has suffered another problem with its ageing fighter fleet with the discovery of a structural issue on one of its Boeing F/A-18 Hornet combat aircraft, the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection, and Sport (VBS [previously DDPS]) disclosed on 3 May.

According to a statement released by the VBS, a wing on one Hornet is to be replaced following the discovery during an inspection that an adhesive bond had failed.

"Under ... an inspection, detachment at the joint between the wing and the fuselage was discovered in an aircraft when replacing a small separation of the adhesive bond between the titanium plating and the composite material. Corresponding investigations have shown that a repair is not possible [and] for this reason the blades must be replaced," the VBS statement read. The aircraft will remain in service "with restrictions" until the work can be carried out during scheduled maintenance.

While the VBS added that such fatigue problems "are not uncommon", this discovery is concerning given the structural issues found with Switzerland's only other combat aircraft type: the Northrop F-5 Tiger II. In April 2015 Defence Minister Ueli Maurer disclosed that cracking in 16 of the country's then 32 serviceable Tigers meant the air force had to prematurely retire a third of its F-5E fleet (the twin-seat F-5F was not affected). This reduction in Tiger numbers has resulted in an increased workload for Switzerland's 31 Hornet fighters and, while this may not be directly attributable to the issue now discovered in one of those aircraft, it certainly will not have helped.

Overarching all of these issues is Switzerland's aborted attempt to field a modern fighter replacement. The country had planned to retire all of its 1970s-built F-5s from 2016 and replace them with the Saab Gripen E. However, the expected deal was rejected during a national referendum in May 2014.

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(334 of 565 words)

http://www.janes.com/article/59970/structural-problem-with-swiss-hornet-raises-wider-fighter-fleet-concerns

[Sparkplug]

India's Rafale Deal Hits Another Snag

Jay Menon | Aerospace Daily & Defense Report | May 3, 2016


Rafale: Dassault

NEW DELHI — India and France's long-gestating deal to buy 36 Dassault Rafale fighters may have run into another hurdle, this time in the form of objections from India's law ministry.

A Law Ministry official says the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) has several loopholes in its liability clause and in other matters such as material breach, bank guarantee and arbitration, and the agreement doesn't serve the interests of India. "We have suggested that unless there is a joint-and-several liability clause, India's interests would remain compromised," the official says.

"The Ministry of Law & Justice has made certain observations and the same will be adequately taken into account while finalizing the Inter-Governmental Agreement [IGA], which is still under negotiations," Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar said in the Upper house of Parliament May 3.

The Law Ministry is concerned about a clause in the agreement that says in the event of a breach of supply requirements by the French companies, the Indian side must first pursue a legal recourse against the companies without involving the French government.

India and France have been negotiating the financial structure of the government-to-government Rafale purchase from Dassault Aviation since India Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year announced New Delhi's decision to buy the 36 aircraft.

Parrikar also clarified that the negotiations on the terms and conditions of the contract, including total cost, actual delivery time lines and guarantee period, have not been concluded.

The cost for the 36 jets, based on the original Request For Proposal price (while taking into account foreign exchange rates and other factors), comes to around 650 billion rupees ($9.7 billion). India wants to negotiate the price down to about 590 billion rupees.

India wants to buy the Rafale jets in flyaway condition "as quickly as possible" in view of the Indian air force's critical operational necessity for multirole combat aircraft.

French President Francois Hollande and Modi asserted during Hollande's visit to India in January that the deal would be finalized soon. "Only financial aspects of the Rafale deal is left. The intergovernmental agreement has been finalized. It will be done soon," Modi said at the time.

http://aviationweek.com/defense/india-s-rafale-deal-hits-another-snag

[Poleme]

Welk kaliber had de USMC toentertijd voor deze 1.000 schoten in gedachten? Was dat 25 mm of 27 mm (De Mauser BK27 moest het veld ruimen voor de GAU-22/A)?

Dat was het 25 mm kaliber, want 27mm is voor de Amerikaanse strijdkrachten niet standaard en de BK27 "is not designed here".
Oorspronkelijk zou de F-35 stuurhut voorzien worden van beeldschermen van het gerenommeerde Belgische Barco.  Ook "not designed here", dus die worden toch geleverd door NorthropGrumman.  Daarnaast heeft de US Air Force liever de Amerikaanse ACES schietstoel, terwijl de huidige Britse Martin Baker Mk.16 toch echt beter is en die zit ook in de Euro Canards.

[Harald]

US will not offer F-15 and F-16 to Finland

Contrary to reports from Helsinki in April, the US Departement of Defense will not offer the Boeing F-15 Eagle and Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon to Finland as possible replacements for the country's fleet of 'legacy' F-18 Hornets. Washington told Helsinki it will not respond to Finland's Request for Information (RfI) for those jets, Finnish MoD confirmed on Monday 2 May. Washington however will send information on the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet and Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.

Both the F-15 and F-16 were named on a list of candidates released by Helsinki in April. Both were designed in the 70s and are nearing the end of production in the US. Their inclusion in Finland's list – and the inclusion of the F-15 in particular – came as a surprise to many, although officials earlier said that Finland was open to all offers that met the conditions of the HX-fighter project. That is the name assigned to the F-18 Hornet replacement program.

The candidates now left in that program, are the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, Boeing F-18 Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin F-35 and Saab's next generation JAS-39 Gripen. The latter will see its rollout of the factory in Sweden on 18 May.

All manufacturers will have to send Helsinki all required information by the end of this year. Comparison of the performances of all jets is scheduled for 2018 and a final decision is expected not before 2021

http://airheadsfly.com/2016/05/02/us-will-not-offer-f-15-and-f-16-to-finland/

[Sparkplug]

'Apart', dat de F-35 voor CAS missies bijna of volledig gebruik maakt van stand-off geleide wapens.  Twintig jaar geleden waren het toch echt de US Marines, die graag zagen dat de JSF net als de A-7 CorsairII een munitie voorraad zou krijgen van 1.000 schoten.

Welk kaliber had de USMC toentertijd voor deze 1.000 schoten in gedachten? Was dat 25 mm of 27 mm (De Mauser BK27 moest het veld ruimen voor de GAU-22/A)?

[Poleme]

Congress to block A-10 retirement pending F-35 combat evaluation


Gilmore says if a combat-loaded F-35B jump jet travelled 250nm to provide air cover for troops, it could only spend 25-40mins in the area before refuelling compared to 1h without external tanks for the A-10.

"Recent exercises involving the use of F-35A and F-35B aircraft in limited close air support mission environments have shown that the fuel burn rate with internal weapons – two bombs and two air-to-air missiles – is 10-20% higher than the F-16, depending on the variant, and about 50-70% higher than the A-10," Gilmore notes in written testimony.

"The F-35 has a lightweight, 25mm cannon, internally mounted on the F-35A with 182 rounds, and in an external pod with 220 rounds for the F-35B and F-35C, while the A-10 has a 30mm cannon with 1,150 rounds," he adds. "Even though the A-10 gun has a higher rate of fire, the A-10 gun can fire for over 17s versus approximately 4s for the F-35, providing the capability for many more gun attacks."

Gilmore and Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall said at the hearing that the F-35 will perform the CAS mission very differently to the A-10 and will rely more on precision weapons like the Boeing GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb, a weapon that has made even the Cold War Boeing B-1B bomber an effective CAS aircraft.

Kendall says he is a "huge proponent and fan of the A-10" but there isn't enough force structure or funding available to the DOD continue operating single-mission aircraft.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/congress-to-block-a-10-retirement-pending-f-35-comba-424673/

1.  Actie radius F-35B.
Uit zeer betrouwbare Amerikaanse en Britse bron heb ik vernomen dat een F-35B in Close Air Support configuratie een totale vliegduur heeft van net 45 minuten.
De F-35B heeft dan 2 AIM-120's, 4 250 pond Small Diameter Bombs en een kanon gondel bij zich.

De F-35 heeft inderdaad bewezen relatief weinig peut te verbruiken vergeleken met de F-16.
MAAR ... de F-16 kruist daarbij in een grond aanval configuratie met een snelheid van 448 knopen (kts) / 830 km/u.   Terwijl  de F-35A niet sneller gaat dan 300 kts / 555 km/u en de vlieger de gashendel en stuurknuppel zo minimaal mogelijk beroert.   Kortom:  waarom ga je dan met een USD 130 - 200 miljoen duur bul de oorlog in waarbij je je wapensysteem vliegt alsof het een verkeersvliegtuig is en die ook een 2-voeter in een inpandig 'kantoor' heeft zitten.  Dan wordt je wel heel kwetsbaar voor jachtvliegtuigen en luchtafweer geschut en vuurpijlen.  Ga dan voor het Predator C/ Avenger bewapende Remotely Piloted Aircraft.

'Apart', dat de F-35 voor CAS missies bijna of volledig gebruik maakt van stand-off geleide wapens.  Twintig jaar geleden waren het toch echt de US Marines, die graag zagen dat de JSF net als de A-7 CorsairII een munitie voorraad zou krijgen van 1.000 schoten.
Maar ja, economisch is het niet goed te praten als een 130 - 200 miljoen duur apparaat bloot beschadigd of gesloopt wordt door ongeleid trash fire of MANPADS.
En schade aan al die Radar Absorberende Materialen en constructies kost heel veel pecunia en tijd.
zie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Campbell_(pilot)   Een A-10 pilote die met haar Warthog veel schade in de strijd opliep
Terwijl de ervaringen, ook in Afghanistan, Irak, Libya, Mali, Jemen en Syria laten zien dat je voor effectieve CAS toch echt vaak onder de 10.000 - 15.000 voet moet opereren.
Helaas, een oorlog bestaat niet alleen uit speer werpen en pijl en boog schieten, maar ook uit man tot man gevechten met strijdbijl, degen, knots of vuisten.
Heb je geen zin in 'krassen' dan kan je maar beter laten we zeggen kapper, bloemist of iets dergelijks worden.

[Sparkplug]

P&W wrapping up F135 engine development

By James Drew, Washington DC | 29 April 2016

Pratt & Whitney expects to wrap up system development and demonstration (SDD) of the F135 propulsion system for the F-35 Lightning II in July after 15 years of work, but the company will remain engaged with the wider Joint Strike Fighter flight test effort which runs until late 2017.

The P&W's head of military engines Bennett Croswell tells Flightglobal that the F135 team is also about 85% of the way through correcting an engine fault inherent in 180 early-model units and caused one aircraft to catch fire on the runway at Eglin AFB, Florida in June 2014. The problem was traced to hard rubbing in the engine's compressor section.

The incident temporarily grounded the F-35 fleet and prevented the US Marine Corps F-35B from debuting at the Farnborough Air Show. "I feel very confident we're going to get across the ditch this time," Croswell says.


P&W

Now that development is wrapping up, Croswell is looking to an F135 engine component improvement programme that receives $33 million per year in the US Air Force's budget as well as new science and technology initiatives as vehicles for developing block upgrades for the 43,000lb-thrust afterburning turbofan.

The F135 represents the present and the future of P&W's military engines business, says Croswell, and new developments will reduce fuel burn, increase thrust and lower the overall life cycle cost. The F135 will evolve in increments like the F100, of which P&W delivered 7,000 over 40 years and 3,900 remain in service today.

A P&W engine has been chosen to power the still-classified Northrop Grumman B-21 long-range strategic bomber, but the US Air Force won't confirm if it's some derivative of the F135. Croswell also won't discuss the next-generation heavy ordnance carrier, but says planned improvements to the F135 will support current F-35 operations and help P&W win new business in the future, perhaps even re-engining contracts.

Initial changes will be software related, Croswell says, with no significant components changes required. The next step up will come via the US Navy's Fuel Burn Reduction programme, which aims to cut F135 fuel consumption by 4% by about 2020.

P&W is also engaged in the Air Force Research Laboratory's Adaptive Engine Technology Development (AETD) project that is developing adaptive cycle engines with a third bypass stream. The ultimate goal is an engine 25% better fuel efficiency than today's engines and 10% greater thrust. P&W and GE Aviation have moved their competing designs from AETD through to the preliminary design review phase and are conducting fan and core demonstrations this year.

The two American engine manufacturers expect follow-on contracts, each worth up to $1 billion, for the Adaptive Engine Transition Programme (AETP) by mid-year. The AETP demonstration phase runs through budget year 2021, with engine performance and durability tests expected in 2019 and 2020. The best engine is likely to power the next Air Force and Navy fighter platforms.

"When you look at when next-generation will be fielded, you need to back it up and start now," says Croswell. "We'll expand on variable cycle features. We're doing an AETD/AETP engine with a variable cycle fan and we're looking at things like a variable cycle core as well.

"That'll be the foundation for what we do in next-gen. We'll do some significant durability testing, go to altitude and test the engine across the full envelope."


Lockheed Martin

The F135 is derived from the F119-100 turbofan that powers the F-22 Raptor and was installed on the Lockheed X-35 and Boeing X-32 JSF prototypes. Since F-35 development began in October 2001, P&W has delivered 270 F135s, including the Rolls-Royce LiftFan-equipped -600 version for the F-35B – the only supersonic short takeoff, vertical landing combat aircraft.

This month, the company finalised a contract for 66 Lot 9 engines under $1 billion deal and is should receive funding for the next 100 Lot 10 units soon. P&W recently received funding for Lot 11 long-lead parts as aircraft production ramps up in Texas, Italy and Japan.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/pw-wrapping-up-f135-engine-development-424810/

[Ace1]

Congress to block A-10 retirement pending F-35 combat evaluation

The chairman of the US Senate House Armed Services Committee says lawmakers aren't likely to authorise the retirement of any more legacy warplanes until there is "no doubt" that the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II can adequately fulfil its intended roles.

The statement by Senator John McCain at a Joint Strike Fighter congressional hearing on 26 April comes as members of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) consider legislation to outlaw retirement of the Fairchild Republic A-10C, at least until the F-35 completes its initial operational evaluation and comparison testing with the "Warthog". The Air Force wants to start drawing down A-10C squadrons beginning in fiscal 2018 and the final airframe would move to desert storage in 2021.

The F-35 isn't expected to begin its operational assesment until late 2017 or perhaps even some time in 2018, but language included in HASC chairman Mac Thornberry's mark of the fiscal year 2017 defence policy bill would retain 171 A-10Cs until JSF operational testing is complete.

The Pentgaon's current programme of record buys 2,443 Lightning IIs for $379 billion through 2040 to replace the A-10, F/A-18, F-16 and AV-8B. Comparison testing between the F-35 and those platforms is meant to certify that the $100 million multirole fighters can successfully accomplish every mission assigned to those types, including close air support (CAS), surface attack, suppression/destruction of enemy air defenses, offensive and defensive air warfare and aerial reconnaissance.
The US Defense Department's director of operational test and evaluation J Michael Gilmore said at the congressional hearing that the F-35 won't exactly match the close air support capabilities of A-10, which was designed in the 1970s expressly for that purpose, but it might perform the role better in a high-threat combat scenario.

However, the F-35's higher fuel burn rate, weapons limitations and smaller gun put it at a disadvantage compared to the A-10, he notes.

Gilmore says if a combat-loaded F-35B jump jet travelled 250nm to provide air cover for troops, it could only spend 25-40mins in the area before refuelling compared to 1h without external tanks for the A-10.

"Recent exercises involving the use of F-35A and F-35B aircraft in limited close air support mission environments have shown that the fuel burn rate with internal weapons – two bombs and two air-to-air missiles – is 10-20% higher than the F-16, depending on the variant, and about 50-70% higher than the A-10," Gilmore notes in written testimony.

"The F-35 has a lightweight, 25mm cannon, internally mounted on the F-35A with 182 rounds, and in an external pod with 220 rounds for the F-35B and F-35C, while the A-10 has a 30mm cannon with 1,150 rounds," he adds. "Even though the A-10 gun has a higher rate of fire, the A-10 gun can fire for over 17s versus approximately 4s for the F-35, providing the capability for many more gun attacks."

Gilmore and Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall said at the hearing that the F-35 will perform the CAS mission very differently to the A-10 and will rely more on precision weapons like the Boeing GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb, a weapon that has made even the Cold War Boeing B-1B bomber an effective CAS aircraft.

Kendall says he is a "huge proponent and fan of the A-10" but there isn't enough force structure or funding available to the DOD continue operating single-mission aircraft.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/congress-to-block-a-10-retirement-pending-f-35-comba-424673/

[Ace1]

F-35 chief considers fix for troubling Block 3i software faults

After 15 years of development and billions of dollars of investment, software glitches continue to hamper Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II operations and in one case, just one of six US Air Force F-35As on a mock deployment to Mountain Home AFB in Idaho were able to takeoff during an alert launch exercise.

"The Air Force attempted two alert launch procedures during the Mountain Home deployment, where multiple F-35A aircraft were preflighted and prepared for a rapid launch, but only one of the six aircraft was able to complete the alert launch sequence and successfully takeoff," the Pentagon's top weapons tester disclosed in written testimony to Congress on 26 April. "Problems during startup that required system or aircraft shutdowns and restarts – a symptom of immature systems and software – prevented the other alert launches from being completed."

The deployment took place in February in preparation for the first trial deployment of the 34th Fighter Squadron of Hill AFB, Utah, which is slated to declare initial operational capability (IOC) with Block 3i aircraft sometime between August and December this year.

It is one of many examples of failed launches attributed to "immature software" that has been loaded into the 179 aircraft Lockheed has already delivered to the Pentagon and international customers since concurrent production and development began in 2007 "well before the stability of the design could be confirmed through testing".

In another "relatively recent" example detailed by the US Defense Department's director of operational test and evaluation J Michael Gilmore, two of four aircraft loaded with an early version of Block 3F had to abort an attempted electronic warfare "super scenario" mission because of software stability problems experienced during startup. "Also, when the aircraft operated in a dense and realistic electromagnetic environment, the current avionics problems caused poor detection and fusion performance, which is exacerbated in multi-ship F-35 formations," Gilmore adds.

Software issues continue to be a problem for US Marin Corps F-35Bs loaded with Block 2B software, even though those aircraft are supposedly the most stable, with a reported average of "8h between software stability events".

Gilmore says if used in combat, the F-35B would need help avoiding threats, acquiring targets and controlling weapons. The Block 2B aircraft are only equipped to carry two bombs and two air-to-air missiles internally, but are also hobbled by "fusion, electronic warfare and weapons employment" deficiencies that cause "ambiguous threat displays, limited ability to respond to threats, and a requirement for offboard sources to provide accurate coordinates for precision attack".

Software issues also plague the latest Block 3i aircraft, which are modified with an improved processor. On 25 March, the F-35 Joint Programme Office (JPO) began flight testing the Block 3iR6.21 software version. Gilmore reports that during the first 30 flights (76 total flight hours) "no less than 27 power cycles were required to get all systems functioning between initial startup and takoff", ranging from full "cold iron" aircraft restarts to component or battery recycling.

The spike in reported software troubles comes as the F-35 programme moves away from parallel coding of multiple, concurrent software blocks to a sequential programming effort, something that F-35 programme chief Lt Gen Christopher Bogdan believes will make the incremental improvement process significantly more efficient.

Bogdan says he has been encouraged by the demonstrated stability of the newest iteration of Block 3i and he expects to make a decision by 1 May as to whether that's the software load that the Air Force's first F-35A combat group will declare IOC with later this year.

The average time between Block 3i "stability events" currently stands at once every three or four hours compared to 8h for Block 2B, says Bogdan, but the latest Block 3i iteration that has been tested over 44 flights and 96 flight hours appears to have tripled in reliability – one failure every 15h, approximately. Bogdan praised Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems and a DOD "red team" for working through the root-cause of these latest software issues and finding a solution. If the initial results prove accurate, Bogdan says it will become the last version of Block 3i.

"Once all the operational tests are done this week, I will make a decision if that version of 3i software is it. I'm leaning toward it being 'it'," Bogdan tells reporters after the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on 26 April. "Other than safety of flight things, that's going to be the software [the Air Force] declares IOC with. No more 2B, no more 3i and no more 3F at the same time – just concentrate on 3F. We think we'll gain some efficienciesthere."

Even if the software issues are fixed to a reasonable extent, there is still 60 days of "schedule risk" that could set back the Air Force's IOC declaration with the conventional A-model. That risk relates to the long-troubled, back-end logistics and aircraft health monitoring network known as the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) that manages the flow of spare parts to aircraft at every main base and deployed location. The latest iteration of ALIS (version 2.0.2) incorporates data from the F-35 afterburning turbofan propulsion system, built by Pratt & Whitney. Incorporating this data and other ALIS fixes has proven to be extremely difficult, says Bogdan.

"All of the things that are necessary for [the USAF] to make that [IOC] decision are on track for a 1 August 2016 declaration with the exception of ALIS," he said during the congressional hearing. "I believe ALIS is approximately 60 days behind, and therefore, I would put ALIS delivery – which is a criteria for them – at about 1 October 2016 as opposed to August."

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/f-35-chief-considers-fix-for-troubling-block-3i-soft-424650/

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F35 fighter jets recommended to Danish government by expert group - radio

April, 28-2016

COPENHAGEN, April 28 (Reuters) - Denmark should buy 28 of Lockheed Martin's F35 Lightning fighter jets to replace its present F16 jets, an expert group formed by the Danish Ministry of Defence has recommended to the government, according to local radio.

The group found that the Lightning was better than Eurofighter's Typhoon and Boeing Co's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in four priority areas: military combat, economy, strategics and Danish industrial cooperation with the producer, Radio24syv said citing sources close to the negotiations.

The expert group recommended that Denmark should buy 28 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin, it said.

Denmark's decision will be closely watched, as several other nations also have to decide whether to replace their aged warplanes with Lockheed Martin Corp's brand new F-35 or play safe with cheaper, older-generation planes such the Super Hornets.

Now it is up to the government and the political parties supporting the purchase of new fighter jets to decide which one to pick.

Denmark's Defence Ministry did not reply to requests from Reuters. Spokesmen from various political parties declined to comment.

(Reporting by Erik Matzen; Editing by Dominic Evans)

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/f35-fighter-jets-recommended-danish-113528877.html