F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

[asianobserve]

If F-35 availability is this low in US. Then god knows what other countries will be doing with this jet

It's a temporary problem due to ALIS problems, parts shortage and fight over intellectual rights over software that tracksair raft including diagnostics.

 

[Armand2REP]

Most OLED variety patents are still held by Americans.

Actually the parts shortage only effects 30% of aircraft.

According to a November 13, 2019 GAO report, the JSF fleet was grounded around 30 percent of the time between May and November 2018 due to insufficient spare parts.

https://www.cagw.org/thewastewatcher/intractable-f-35-problems-continue

Even if they get that reduced by half it would still be less than 50% availability.

 

[asianobserve]

Actually the parts shortage only effects 30% of aircraft.

According to a November 13, 2019 GAO report, the JSF fleet was grounded around 30 percent of the time between May and November 2018 due to insufficient spare parts.

https://www.cagw.org/thewastewatcher/intractable-f-35-problems-continue

Even if they get that reduced by half it would still be less than 50% availability.

Just look at how fast foreign air forces are snspping up F-35s and how much they are desired by countries even if the know they can't get it (at least now) like UAE. Look at the lengths that Turkey would go to get back to the F-35. Everybody knows these problems are temporary. Just look at the green glow issue. ALIS or its variation is a priority now for example.

It's a complex aircraft but with American technological and financial base, plus its partners, F-35 will be the best all-around fighter in the first part of the 21st century. It's maintenance issues will be resolved, its maintenance cost and capabilities will only get better as US and its partners hain more experience operating it.

The F-35 will be the ultimate pack of deadly wolves in the skies in the next 20 years, if the French and Germans can agree long enough to produce SCAF or until the Brits plus Swedes and Italians produce Tempest, or until the US itself produces its next gen of fighters.

But then again, the Americans can simply keep on upgrading the F-35 to keep its edge.

 

[asianobserve]

Great demo at Aviation Nation 2019

 

[asianobserve]

U.S. Air Force prepares F-35’s Airmen for Arctic operations

The U.S. Air Force prepares trained personnel and equipment to respond to contingencies and emergencies in the Arctic, according to a recent service news release.

In preparation for the arrival of the Department of Defense’s newest fifth-generation fighter, Airmen assigned to the 354th Fighter Wing tested a new arctic survival kit for the F-35A Lightning II in downtown Fairbanks, Alaska.

In April 2016, the Air Force made an announcement that changed Eielson AFB history. After a lengthy analysis of the installation’s operations, environmental factors and cost, the Secretary of the Air Force selected Eielson AFB to be the first operational U.S. Air Force location outside the contiguous United States to receive the F-35A Lightning II.

There is no question the F-35, which already completed developmental testing in sub-zero temperatures, will be coming to Alaska in 2020. Currently, Air Force needed to have trained personnel and special equipment for work in an extremely cold-weather environment.

A team of Airmen from the 356th Fighter Squadron, F-35 Program Integration Office, 354th Operation Support Squadron Aircrew Flight Equipment and 66th Training Squadron, Detachment 1, used a subzero chamber to replicate the extreme temperatures of interior Alaska.

The test was performed because the current arctic survival kit won’t fit in the allotted space under the seat of an F-35A. The 354th FW is expecting to receive its first F-35A in April of 2019.

“We are testing the kit that Tech. Sgt. John Williams, Tech. Sgt. Benjamin Ferguson and myself have developed over the last year in preparation for the integration of the F-35,” said Tech. Sgt. Garrett Wright, 66th TRS, Det. 1 Arctic Survival School noncommissioned officer in charge of operations.

Four members of the team, to include Lt. Col. James Christensen, commander of the reactivated 356th Fighter Squadron, stepped into two separate chambers, one at minus 20 and the other at minus 40, wearing standard cold-weather gear issued to pilots. Once inside the chambers, the test observers timed how long it took them to don the specialized winter gear from their survival kit.

After the gear was on, the Icemen lived up to their name and stayed in the chamber for six hours. Wright recorded their condition every 30 minutes to ensure the safety and accuracy of the test.

Approximately five hours into the test, Wright noticed the temperature on the digital thermometer didn’t seem accurate in one of the chambers. He found a mercury-based thermometer and discovered the temperature one of the chambers was at minus 65 and the other was minus 51.

“After realizing that the ambient room temperature was at minus 65 at the five-hour mark, I knew that we had accomplished far more than we originally set out to,” Wright said. “Wing leaders wanted a product that would keep pilots alive at minus 40 and although unplanned, the findings were clear that the sleep system could far surpass this goal.”

After six cold hours, the Icemen stepped out of the subzero chamber and spoke with the survival, evasion, reconnaissance, and escape specialists and the AFE team to address discrepancies and better ways to utilize the equipment.

“The gear was great. There were a couple of minor tweaks that I think we could make to it to improve it but overall it was solid,” said Staff Sgt. Zachary Rumke, 66th TS, Det. 1, Artic Survival School instructor.

After the debrief, the four Icemen agreed the equipment is more than capable of withstanding the harsh temperatures of the Alaskan landscape and said they would feel safe knowing they had this gear to help them survive in one of the world’s most extreme environments.

https://defence-blog.com/news/u-s-air-force-prepares-f-35s-airmen-for-arctic-operations.html

 

[asianobserve]

Wonderful video of F-35A, B and Cs praticing low level flying in the Star Wars canyon:

 

[asianobserve]

Duth F-35As at Star Wars Canyon

 

[asianobserve]

Raytheon Joint Standoff Weapon to be certificated for F-35A

The AGM-154 JSOW precision-strike glide bomb is to be certificated for the internal weapons bay of the US Air Force's F-35A Lighting II stealth fighter by the end of November 2019.

The US Navy has already qualified the JSOW on its F-35C variant and now the USAF is to use that testing data to integrate the weapon onto its aircraft, says Mark Borup, senior manager of business development for Raytheon Missile Systems’ air warfare systems.

The glide bomb is GPS guided and can follow a waypoint path to its target. The latest variant of the weapon, the JSOW-C Block III, can be guided in its terminal phase by an infrared seeker and has a tandem warhead, among other improvements.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/a...-joint-standoff-weapon-to-be-certific-462320/

 

[asianobserve]

U.S. Air Force deploys 5th generation fighters to Middle East

“For the second time this year, Airmen from the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings here deployed F-35A Lighting IIs into combat,” the Air Force message states.

The 34th Fighter Squadron departed Hill last week for Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, to support the United States Air Force Central Command mission in the Middle East. The aircraft recently arrived in country.

“I’m extremely proud of all of our Airmen in the 388th and 419th fighter wings,” said Col. Steven Behmer, 388th Fighter Wing commander. “Both they and this platform are absolutely ready for this short-notice tasking, bringing the unique combat capabilities of the F-35A to the fight.”

https://defence-blog.com/news/u-s-air-force-deploys-5th-generation-fighters-to-middle-east.html/amp

 

[BON PLAN]

Wonderful video of F-35A, B and Cs praticing low level flying in the Star Wars canyon:

A lot of reheat use ...
And no special hard turn.

 

[Armand2REP]

Duth F-35As at Star Wars Canyon

Aren't you the one that said it was stupid to fly at low altitude? Why are they practicing low level penetration if it is stealth?

 

[asianobserve]

Aren't you the one that said it was stupid to fly at low altitude? Why are they practicing low level penetration if it is stealth?

That's part of theor training just in case they have to fight a country like Saudi that either does not know how to use their new radars or those countries that have old radars designed to look at low level ike Lybia.

Due to proliferation of modern radars thatveffectively scans the horizon for cruise missiles and low flying aircraft modern fighters 4th, 4.5th and even 5th gen are forced to go high altitude. 4th and 4.5th gen fightets fly high and distance themselves as much as possible from enemy SAMs, especially integrated ones while using stand off weapons. 5th gen fighters can penetrate these radars but still from high altitudes to give better reaction time and maximize performance of their weapons.

Even SCAF if it's developed will be a high altitude fighter.

 

[asianobserve]

A lot of reheat use ...
And no special hard turn.

It's a high speed and irregular flight patg. Rafale will be using afterburners too if it's in s similar ecercise. Just look st EFs in Mach Loop.

On top of that, afterburner plume may not be much of an issue at least in the elrctronic domain. As early as the 1960s during the A12 (predecessor of Blackhawk) program Lockheed already developed a fuel additive that minimizes the huge exhaust electronic signature.

'These features all had a notable impact on reducing the aircraft's radar cross-section. However, there was one aspect of the plane's radar signature that still proved difficult to manage, the exhaust outlets for the J58s and the giant plume from the engines at full afterburner, which was necessary to propel the A-12 to its blistering top speed of well over Mach 3.

“To overcome the afterburner problem of a large radar cross section return from the aft quadrant, we proposed the use of [a] cesium additive to the fuel,” Kelly Johnson wrote in his A-12 history. “This was first brought up by Mr. Ed Lovick of ADP and its final development was passed over to P&W. It was eventually a basic part of our cross section reduction methods.”

“The exhaust pipes were sixty inches in diameter, so they returned large amounts of energy at all frequencies of interest and over large angles to the rear,” Lovick, who also worked on the SR-71 and the F-117 Nighthawk stealth combat aircraft, wrote in his own book, Radar Man: A Personal History of Stealth. “We knew that the only way to prevent such echoes was, in effect, to close the apertures.”

Lockheed initially experimented with various metallic mesh screens, but quickly abandoned those efforts, according to Lovick. He says that Dr. Richard Bissell, the CIA’s Special Assistant for Planning and Coordination, who was managing the program, was so worried about this particular issue, he had considered calling for the scrapping of the entire development of a U-2 successor. That’s where the cesium additive, which eventually became known as A-50, came in an idea that Lovick claims saved the A-12 program.

The basic principle behind this is a concept known as “plasma stealth.” In the simplest terms, this involves creating a cloud of plasma, or ionized gas, around some or all of an object. The plasma then absorbs electromagnetic radiation, such as radar waves, preventing them from reflecting back. There are multiple ways to generate the required plasma Lovick’s idea was to inject an alkali metal, via a fuel additive, into the extremely hot exhaust streams, where the heat would turn it into an ionized gas.

The final additive mix was 30 percent cesium metal and 60 percent dialkyl phosphate, according to Lovick. However, he says in his book that the testing of the additives, which included flight tests at Area 51, was finished by 1965, but it’s unclear if this only refers to Lockheed’s portion of the work before the project passed to Pratt & Whitney. '

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...d-plasma-stealth-by-burning-cesium-laced-fuel

 

[Armand2REP]

That's part of theor training just in case they have to fight a country like Saudi that either does not know how to use their new radars or those countries that have old radars designed to look at low level ike Lybia.

Due to proliferation of modern radars thatveffectively scans the horizon for cruise missiles and low flying aircraft modern fighters 4th, 4.5th and even 5th gen are forced to go high altitude. 4th and 4.5th gen fightets fly high and distance themselves as much as possible from enemy SAMs, especially integrated ones while using stand off weapons. 5th gen fighters can penetrate these radars but still from high altitudes to give better reaction time and maximize performance of their weapons.

Even SCAF if it's developed will be a high altitude fighter.

That is definitely not the reason why, in fact it is the complete opposite. Aircraft fly high to avoid AAA and MANPADs from low intensity threats. In high threat regions with LRSAMS like S-400 they will fly low to avoid detection under the horizon of their radar. The fact that F-35s are required to go though Star Wars Canyon training verifies they will be using low level penetration as part of their tactics.

 

[asianobserve]

That is definitely not the reason why, in fact it is the complete opposite. Aircraft fly high to avoid AAA and MANPADs from low intensity threats. In high threat regions with LRSAMS like S-400 they will fly low to avoid detection under the horizon of their radar. The fact that F-35s are required to go though Star Wars Canyon training verifies they will be using low level penetration as part of their tactics.

The term is "LAYERED." Modern SAMs of highly capable militaries have layered integrated SAMs to take out ballistic missiles, high flying aircrafts, medium altitude aircrafts and low altitude aircraft, cruise missiles and increasingly drones under a single or interconnected system.

At low altitude there is very little reaction time to evade MANPADs, AAAs, or new anti-drone or anti cruise missile defenses. But in high altitude st least from the time the radsr reciever blares alarm, to the time the SAM is laumched and to time of impact there are several precious minutes. A modern high altitude fighter can either deply chaffs, decoys, do EW or jamming, or simply get out of the area.

 

[asianobserve]

And in case of A2A fight. A fighter who is perched at higher altitude has the advantage over lower altitude opponents. A missile fired from high altitude to lower altitude targets performs better, faster and can effectively max its range. But when a missile is fired upwards its fighting against gravity and thus has poorer performance.

I also remember watching documentary about the dogfights in the Pavific in WW2. An American P-38 ace who scored his kills by staying at high altitude and zooming down on Jap planes and going back up again in a "zoom and boom" tactic. And in WW2 experienced Americans pilots would always be required to teach newer pilots techniques. It was said that that fighter ace would always remind new pilots not to dogfight from low altitude as you would almost always be cornered. Unfortunately maybe by hubris or a pure desire to protect ground forces, he violsted his own rule and got cornered by Zeros at low altitude. In the heat ensuing dogfight he inadvertently crashed his P-38 into the ground killing him.

 

[Armand2REP]

At low altitude there is very little reaction time to evade MANPADs, AAAs, or new anti-drone or anti cruise missile defenses. But in high altitude st least from the time the radsr reciever blares alarm, to the time the SAM is laumched and to time of impact there are several precious minutes. A modern high altitude fighter can either deply chaffs, decoys, do EW or jamming, or simply get out of the area.

Against a highly capable enemy a high altitude approach is a horrible idea. Even an F-35 is not impervious to detection and at high altitude it is the easiest place to see it. With the proliferation of IRST and thermal imaging, it would not take long to find it among the cold backdrop of high altitude. At treetop level it hides among ground clutter and thermal radiation of the Earth.

And in case of A2A fight. A fighter who is perched at higher altitude has the advantage over lower altitude opponents. A missile fired from high altitude to lower altitude targets performs better, faster and can effectively max its range. But when a missile is fired upwards its fighting against gravity and thus has poorer performance.

You said that before and it was debunked already. Typhoons flying at higher altitude than Rafale are absolutely destroyed in A2A combat verified by an actual Rafale pilot. A missile fired from lower altitude within its NEZ is still within its no escape zone, that means you die.

I also remember watching documentary about the dogfights in the Pavific in WW2. An American P-38 ace who scored his kills by staying at high altitude and zooming down on Jap planes and going back up again in a "zoom and boom" tactic. And in WW2 experienced Americans pilots would always be required to teach newer pilots techniques. It was said that that fighter ace would always remind new pilots not to dogfight from low altitude as you would almost always be cornered. Unfortunately maybe by hubris or a pure desire to protect ground forces, he violsted his own rule and got cornered by Zeros at low altitude. In the heat ensuing dogfight he inadvertently crashed his P-38 into the ground killing him.

It is two different eras. I remember watching a documentary about Napoleon and he was the first general to have an air force... of balloons. He used them to show the Arabs how backwards they were, it didn't do much else much like the F-35 that is grounded 2/3rds of the time.

 

[Bhurki]

Great demo at Aviation Nation 2019

What a turkey!.. Rafale can shoot it down without even taking off.

 

[Armand2REP]

What a turkey!.. Rafale can shoot it down without even taking off.

Mica comes in IR and pulls 50Gs... it is possible.

 

[asianobserve]

Against a highly capable enemy a high altitude approach is a horrible idea. Even an F-35 is not impervious to detection and at high altitude it is the easiest place to see it. With the proliferation of IRST and thermal imaging, it would not take long to find it among the cold backdrop of high altitude. At treetop level it hides among ground clutter and thermal radiation of the Earth.

Ground clutter was an issue until the 90s. But with the introduction of AESA, higher computing power, IRST, DAS or copycats in fighters all the information from these sensors plus memory bank are fused automatically to create a clear picture. In the F-35 no matter where the enemy is it will be detected and a symbol will appear on the pilots HMD.

IRST looking up is not a sure way to detect F-35. A lotbof factors should be considered like clouds, weather or in the case of F-35 IR mitigating coating.

You said that before and it was debunked already. Typhoons flying at higher altitude than Rafale are absolutely destroyed in A2A combat verified by an actual Rafale pilot. A missile fired from lower altitude within its NEZ is still within its no escape zone, that means you die.

This is my first time to hear thst therd has been another Eestern Eutopean air wsr since WW2. So a Rafale from lower altitude shot down a Eurofighter? With what missile andcwas the EF pilot killed? Which country owmed the shot down EF?

It is two different eras. I remember watching a documentary about Napoleon and he was the first general to have an air force... of balloons. He used them to show the Arabs how backwards they were, it didn't do much else much like the F-35 that is grounded 2/3rds of the time.

Only a weaker fighter will seek to fight at lower altitude. SCAF will definitely fight from high altitude.