gadeshi
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2013
- Messages
- 9,223
- Likes
- 6,636
No.
You'd better compate the IR-intensive torch from strategic missile and 1000 times less intensive radiation from aircrafts.
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
- Thread starter 1.44
- Start date
You'd better compate the IR-intensive torch from strategic missile and 1000 times less intensive radiation from aircrafts.
Superdefender
Senior Member
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2016
- Messages
- 1,207
- Likes
- 1,085
What It’s Really Like To Fly The F-35
By Ian Greenhalgh on April 19, 2016
You've heard what the critics have to say, now let's see what the pilots think
… by Ian Greenhalgh
You must have heard about the F-35 debacle by now, a sad tale of huge cost overruns and an aircraft that has been called ‘the worst thing the USA ever procured’ by some commentators.
Aside from the obvious corruption involved in the F-35’s troubled development (is anything involving John McCain ever anything other than corrupt) and the resultant incredible sums of money spent on the project, there is the very real danger that the USA mind find itself armed with an aircraft that simply doesn’t work.
Whether it’s the gun that won’t fire or the ejector seat that is lethal to pilots that aren’t overweight, the tales of woe are endless. Even before the aircraft had entered service the jokes were well known:
How many F-35s does it take to change a lightbulb?
Three: One to change the criteria of changing a lightbulb, the second to undergo maintenance, and the third to tell the press the lightbulb has been changed.
However, there is a difference between what an aircraft can and can’t do on paper and what it can really do once it has entered service and the personnel charged with flying and maintaining it learn it’s foibles. Few commentators have bothered to look at the issue fairly, preferring instead to jump on the bandwagon of criticism and take cheap pot-shots at the F-35s expense.
Therefore, when an experienced Marine aviator with several years experience of flying the F-35 speaks out on what it’s actually like, it is worth taking note, in the interests of balance and fairness, if nothing else.
__________
Gillian Rich — Investors.com April 15, 2016
What It’s Really Like To Fly The F-35: A Marine Pilot Speaks
Headlines haven’t been kind to Lockheed Martin‘s (LMT) F-35. “America’s Most Expensive Fighter Jet is Also Its Worst,” Maxim wrote. “Report: The F-35’s Pilot Eject System Could KILL You And Definitely Will Maim You,” according to the Daily Caller. “The Pentagon’s Official F-35 Bug List is Terrifying,” said ExtremeTech.
Government reports of the $400 billion program have also been scathing. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain is a major critic, and Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has said he’d consider dropping the program if he gets elected.
But a Marine pilot who has been flying the F-35 for nearly four years feels differently, even if some bugs still need to be worked out.
“I love the airplane, and it’s great to be flying something that’s newer,” Maj. Brendan Walsh told IBD.
He previously flew F/A-18C Hornets, which debuted in the 1980s, but he’s now flying a so-called fifth-generation fighter with stealth technology.
“Even in today’s battlefield and even with what some people call immaturities on the F-35, I would hands down rather be in an F-35 than an F-18 in just about any situation,” Walsh said.
Preparing For Deployment
The Marine Corps declared the F-35B variant combat ready in July, and Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, the “Green Knights,” became the first squadron to become operational with an F-35.
Since then, the Marines have been preparing for the F-35’s first deployment to Iwakuni, Japan, next year.
A short, expeditionary runway comprised of metal sheets was used at a Marine Corps base in Twentynine Palms, Calif., to practice short take-offs and vertical landings (STOVL).
“The STOVL is awesome,” said Walsh, who is the operations officer for the Green Knights. “We can deploy fifth-generation platforms in decentralized areas that make it hard for the enemy to target.”
The F-35 has come a long way since Walsh started flying it four years ago. For example, it now takes Walsh eight minutes to hit the runway for take-off, comparable to the F/A-18, and down from two hours when he first started flying the new jet.
He is also impressed with the F-35’s stealth, among other features, and is confident that even more advanced capabilities will come later.
“The radar has performed well, the surveillance systems and electronic surveillance systems have performed very well, even in this configuration of the airplane, and they are only going to get better,” Walsh said.
The Fight Over Dogfighting
But while Walsh prefers the F-35 over his old jet, a dogfight in the new aircraft could be problematic.
Last year, the military blog War Is Boring reported that an older General Dynamics (GD) F-16 outmaneuvered the F-35 in an air-combat test, setting off a firestorm of criticism.
But the Pentagon has since said the F-35 wasn’t equipped with its full array of avionics, helmet mounted display or compete stealth coatings. It also is trying to downplay dogfighting, saying that’s not the F-35’s main mission.
Another fifth-generation stealth fighter, Lockheed’s F-22 Raptor, was designated primarily as an air superiority fighter. But it was canceled less than halfway into its production run as costs soared, leaving the Air Force with only 187 operational planes.
The F-35, which will have three versions for the Air Force, Navy and Marines, is seen as a multirole fighter, with production expected to hit 2,443 for the U.S. services and more than 900 for international customers.
Meanwhile, China has been developing the J-31 fighter, which is believed to be made from stolen F-35 plans, and a new long-range air-to-air missile. Russia also has been expanding its radar and weapons capabilities.
But given its advanced features, Walsh doesn’t see the F-35 doing much turning and burning against other fighters. “If you’re in a dogfight in this airplane, you did something wrong, because you should have killed everyone way before you got there.”
Still, he said, there have been “better performances recently” in dogfighting match-ups, based on what he’s heard from operational testers, and those tests are still ongoing.
More Work To Be Done
Other issues continue to hang over the F-35 program. Last month, at a House Appropriations Committee hearing, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller said that he has “concerns about where the software was” and wanted Lockheed to hurry up with fixes.
The Pentagon’s chief weapons tester has pointed out glitches in the Autonomic Logistics Information System, which helps manage diagnostics, maintenance and supply-chain issues.
Walsh’s squadron tested the troublesome system, considered the “brains” of the F-35, in December, and it set up the complex server in a remote area in Twentynine Palms.
“I have full confidence that we can deploy the server and go somewhere if we have to,” Walsh said. “I had no issues with it from a pilot’s point of view, getting into the system and signing for the aircraft and screening it as appropriate for flight.”
An evaluation of the ejection system also found that it’s possible lightweight pilots could break their necks while ejecting. A fix is in the works, and Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work recently said he is confident ejection issues with lightweight pilots will be resolved. Also, until a software upgrade next year, the F-35 can’t fire its 25 mm cannon.
But the evaluation of one warfighter who would fly the F-35 into combat is clear: “I feel way more survivable and way more lethal in the majority of mission sets in this airplane than with anything the Marine Corps has in the air right now,” Walsh said.
Source Link: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2016/04/19/405220/
By Ian Greenhalgh on April 19, 2016
You've heard what the critics have to say, now let's see what the pilots think
… by Ian Greenhalgh
You must have heard about the F-35 debacle by now, a sad tale of huge cost overruns and an aircraft that has been called ‘the worst thing the USA ever procured’ by some commentators.
Aside from the obvious corruption involved in the F-35’s troubled development (is anything involving John McCain ever anything other than corrupt) and the resultant incredible sums of money spent on the project, there is the very real danger that the USA mind find itself armed with an aircraft that simply doesn’t work.
Whether it’s the gun that won’t fire or the ejector seat that is lethal to pilots that aren’t overweight, the tales of woe are endless. Even before the aircraft had entered service the jokes were well known:
How many F-35s does it take to change a lightbulb?
Three: One to change the criteria of changing a lightbulb, the second to undergo maintenance, and the third to tell the press the lightbulb has been changed.
However, there is a difference between what an aircraft can and can’t do on paper and what it can really do once it has entered service and the personnel charged with flying and maintaining it learn it’s foibles. Few commentators have bothered to look at the issue fairly, preferring instead to jump on the bandwagon of criticism and take cheap pot-shots at the F-35s expense.
Therefore, when an experienced Marine aviator with several years experience of flying the F-35 speaks out on what it’s actually like, it is worth taking note, in the interests of balance and fairness, if nothing else.
__________
Gillian Rich — Investors.com April 15, 2016
What It’s Really Like To Fly The F-35: A Marine Pilot Speaks
Headlines haven’t been kind to Lockheed Martin‘s (LMT) F-35. “America’s Most Expensive Fighter Jet is Also Its Worst,” Maxim wrote. “Report: The F-35’s Pilot Eject System Could KILL You And Definitely Will Maim You,” according to the Daily Caller. “The Pentagon’s Official F-35 Bug List is Terrifying,” said ExtremeTech.
Government reports of the $400 billion program have also been scathing. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain is a major critic, and Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has said he’d consider dropping the program if he gets elected.
But a Marine pilot who has been flying the F-35 for nearly four years feels differently, even if some bugs still need to be worked out.
“I love the airplane, and it’s great to be flying something that’s newer,” Maj. Brendan Walsh told IBD.
He previously flew F/A-18C Hornets, which debuted in the 1980s, but he’s now flying a so-called fifth-generation fighter with stealth technology.
“Even in today’s battlefield and even with what some people call immaturities on the F-35, I would hands down rather be in an F-35 than an F-18 in just about any situation,” Walsh said.
Preparing For Deployment
The Marine Corps declared the F-35B variant combat ready in July, and Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, the “Green Knights,” became the first squadron to become operational with an F-35.
Since then, the Marines have been preparing for the F-35’s first deployment to Iwakuni, Japan, next year.
A short, expeditionary runway comprised of metal sheets was used at a Marine Corps base in Twentynine Palms, Calif., to practice short take-offs and vertical landings (STOVL).
“The STOVL is awesome,” said Walsh, who is the operations officer for the Green Knights. “We can deploy fifth-generation platforms in decentralized areas that make it hard for the enemy to target.”
The F-35 has come a long way since Walsh started flying it four years ago. For example, it now takes Walsh eight minutes to hit the runway for take-off, comparable to the F/A-18, and down from two hours when he first started flying the new jet.
He is also impressed with the F-35’s stealth, among other features, and is confident that even more advanced capabilities will come later.
“The radar has performed well, the surveillance systems and electronic surveillance systems have performed very well, even in this configuration of the airplane, and they are only going to get better,” Walsh said.
The Fight Over Dogfighting
But while Walsh prefers the F-35 over his old jet, a dogfight in the new aircraft could be problematic.
Last year, the military blog War Is Boring reported that an older General Dynamics (GD) F-16 outmaneuvered the F-35 in an air-combat test, setting off a firestorm of criticism.
But the Pentagon has since said the F-35 wasn’t equipped with its full array of avionics, helmet mounted display or compete stealth coatings. It also is trying to downplay dogfighting, saying that’s not the F-35’s main mission.
Another fifth-generation stealth fighter, Lockheed’s F-22 Raptor, was designated primarily as an air superiority fighter. But it was canceled less than halfway into its production run as costs soared, leaving the Air Force with only 187 operational planes.
The F-35, which will have three versions for the Air Force, Navy and Marines, is seen as a multirole fighter, with production expected to hit 2,443 for the U.S. services and more than 900 for international customers.
Meanwhile, China has been developing the J-31 fighter, which is believed to be made from stolen F-35 plans, and a new long-range air-to-air missile. Russia also has been expanding its radar and weapons capabilities.
But given its advanced features, Walsh doesn’t see the F-35 doing much turning and burning against other fighters. “If you’re in a dogfight in this airplane, you did something wrong, because you should have killed everyone way before you got there.”
Still, he said, there have been “better performances recently” in dogfighting match-ups, based on what he’s heard from operational testers, and those tests are still ongoing.
More Work To Be Done
Other issues continue to hang over the F-35 program. Last month, at a House Appropriations Committee hearing, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller said that he has “concerns about where the software was” and wanted Lockheed to hurry up with fixes.
The Pentagon’s chief weapons tester has pointed out glitches in the Autonomic Logistics Information System, which helps manage diagnostics, maintenance and supply-chain issues.
Walsh’s squadron tested the troublesome system, considered the “brains” of the F-35, in December, and it set up the complex server in a remote area in Twentynine Palms.
“I have full confidence that we can deploy the server and go somewhere if we have to,” Walsh said. “I had no issues with it from a pilot’s point of view, getting into the system and signing for the aircraft and screening it as appropriate for flight.”
An evaluation of the ejection system also found that it’s possible lightweight pilots could break their necks while ejecting. A fix is in the works, and Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work recently said he is confident ejection issues with lightweight pilots will be resolved. Also, until a software upgrade next year, the F-35 can’t fire its 25 mm cannon.
But the evaluation of one warfighter who would fly the F-35 into combat is clear: “I feel way more survivable and way more lethal in the majority of mission sets in this airplane than with anything the Marine Corps has in the air right now,” Walsh said.
Source Link: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2016/04/19/405220/
Kshatriya87
Senior Member
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2014
- Messages
- 10,136
- Likes
- 16,039
Don't you think there is tiny little bit of a chance that this pilot "walsh" is funded/compromised. I mean, its a hundreds of billions of dollars worth of project. What does it take to make a couple of pilots say what the authorities want them to say?!?!What It’s Really Like To Fly The F-35
By Ian Greenhalgh on April 19, 2016
You've heard what the critics have to say, now let's see what the pilots think
… by Ian Greenhalgh
You must have heard about the F-35 debacle by now, a sad tale of huge cost overruns and an aircraft that has been called ‘the worst thing the USA ever procured’ by some commentators.
Aside from the obvious corruption involved in the F-35’s troubled development (is anything involving John McCain ever anything other than corrupt) and the resultant incredible sums of money spent on the project, there is the very real danger that the USA mind find itself armed with an aircraft that simply doesn’t work.
Whether it’s the gun that won’t fire or the ejector seat that is lethal to pilots that aren’t overweight, the tales of woe are endless. Even before the aircraft had entered service the jokes were well known:
How many F-35s does it take to change a lightbulb?
Three: One to change the criteria of changing a lightbulb, the second to undergo maintenance, and the third to tell the press the lightbulb has been changed.
However, there is a difference between what an aircraft can and can’t do on paper and what it can really do once it has entered service and the personnel charged with flying and maintaining it learn it’s foibles. Few commentators have bothered to look at the issue fairly, preferring instead to jump on the bandwagon of criticism and take cheap pot-shots at the F-35s expense.
Therefore, when an experienced Marine aviator with several years experience of flying the F-35 speaks out on what it’s actually like, it is worth taking note, in the interests of balance and fairness, if nothing else.
__________
Gillian Rich — Investors.com April 15, 2016
What It’s Really Like To Fly The F-35: A Marine Pilot Speaks
Headlines haven’t been kind to Lockheed Martin‘s (LMT) F-35. “America’s Most Expensive Fighter Jet is Also Its Worst,” Maxim wrote. “Report: The F-35’s Pilot Eject System Could KILL You And Definitely Will Maim You,” according to the Daily Caller. “The Pentagon’s Official F-35 Bug List is Terrifying,” said ExtremeTech.
Government reports of the $400 billion program have also been scathing. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain is a major critic, and Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has said he’d consider dropping the program if he gets elected.
But a Marine pilot who has been flying the F-35 for nearly four years feels differently, even if some bugs still need to be worked out.
“I love the airplane, and it’s great to be flying something that’s newer,” Maj. Brendan Walsh told IBD.
He previously flew F/A-18C Hornets, which debuted in the 1980s, but he’s now flying a so-called fifth-generation fighter with stealth technology.
“Even in today’s battlefield and even with what some people call immaturities on the F-35, I would hands down rather be in an F-35 than an F-18 in just about any situation,” Walsh said.
Preparing For Deployment
The Marine Corps declared the F-35B variant combat ready in July, and Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, the “Green Knights,” became the first squadron to become operational with an F-35.
Since then, the Marines have been preparing for the F-35’s first deployment to Iwakuni, Japan, next year.
A short, expeditionary runway comprised of metal sheets was used at a Marine Corps base in Twentynine Palms, Calif., to practice short take-offs and vertical landings (STOVL).
“The STOVL is awesome,” said Walsh, who is the operations officer for the Green Knights. “We can deploy fifth-generation platforms in decentralized areas that make it hard for the enemy to target.”
The F-35 has come a long way since Walsh started flying it four years ago. For example, it now takes Walsh eight minutes to hit the runway for take-off, comparable to the F/A-18, and down from two hours when he first started flying the new jet.
He is also impressed with the F-35’s stealth, among other features, and is confident that even more advanced capabilities will come later.
“The radar has performed well, the surveillance systems and electronic surveillance systems have performed very well, even in this configuration of the airplane, and they are only going to get better,” Walsh said.
The Fight Over Dogfighting
But while Walsh prefers the F-35 over his old jet, a dogfight in the new aircraft could be problematic.
Last year, the military blog War Is Boring reported that an older General Dynamics (GD) F-16 outmaneuvered the F-35 in an air-combat test, setting off a firestorm of criticism.
But the Pentagon has since said the F-35 wasn’t equipped with its full array of avionics, helmet mounted display or compete stealth coatings. It also is trying to downplay dogfighting, saying that’s not the F-35’s main mission.
Another fifth-generation stealth fighter, Lockheed’s F-22 Raptor, was designated primarily as an air superiority fighter. But it was canceled less than halfway into its production run as costs soared, leaving the Air Force with only 187 operational planes.
The F-35, which will have three versions for the Air Force, Navy and Marines, is seen as a multirole fighter, with production expected to hit 2,443 for the U.S. services and more than 900 for international customers.
Meanwhile, China has been developing the J-31 fighter, which is believed to be made from stolen F-35 plans, and a new long-range air-to-air missile. Russia also has been expanding its radar and weapons capabilities.
But given its advanced features, Walsh doesn’t see the F-35 doing much turning and burning against other fighters. “If you’re in a dogfight in this airplane, you did something wrong, because you should have killed everyone way before you got there.”
Still, he said, there have been “better performances recently” in dogfighting match-ups, based on what he’s heard from operational testers, and those tests are still ongoing.
More Work To Be Done
Other issues continue to hang over the F-35 program. Last month, at a House Appropriations Committee hearing, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller said that he has “concerns about where the software was” and wanted Lockheed to hurry up with fixes.
The Pentagon’s chief weapons tester has pointed out glitches in the Autonomic Logistics Information System, which helps manage diagnostics, maintenance and supply-chain issues.
Walsh’s squadron tested the troublesome system, considered the “brains” of the F-35, in December, and it set up the complex server in a remote area in Twentynine Palms.
“I have full confidence that we can deploy the server and go somewhere if we have to,” Walsh said. “I had no issues with it from a pilot’s point of view, getting into the system and signing for the aircraft and screening it as appropriate for flight.”
An evaluation of the ejection system also found that it’s possible lightweight pilots could break their necks while ejecting. A fix is in the works, and Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work recently said he is confident ejection issues with lightweight pilots will be resolved. Also, until a software upgrade next year, the F-35 can’t fire its 25 mm cannon.
But the evaluation of one warfighter who would fly the F-35 into combat is clear: “I feel way more survivable and way more lethal in the majority of mission sets in this airplane than with anything the Marine Corps has in the air right now,” Walsh said.
Source Link: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2016/04/19/405220/
Superdefender
Senior Member
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2016
- Messages
- 1,207
- Likes
- 1,085
@Kshatria87 , I have posted this article as a neutral point of view. After reading, members may come to different observations based on Walsh's comment. This pilot may be funded or may be not - who knows? Perhaps he may simply defend a US product; as they are not like IAF!! If the media journals start searching seriously all pilots who have flied F-35 so far, I will be not surprised if majority of them choose F-18 over F-35. There is little scope of personal opinions of pilots here because there is huge politics here. But again, who knows?
- Joined
- May 5, 2011
- Messages
- 12,846
- Likes
- 8,556
Denmark has decided in favor of buying F-35As over Eurofighter and SH:
http://www.fmn.dk/temaer/kampfly/Do...ks-new-fighter-aircrafts-english-summary5.pdf
http://www.fmn.dk/temaer/kampfly/Do...ks-new-fighter-aircrafts-english-summary5.pdf
Tactical Frog
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2016
- Messages
- 1,542
- Likes
- 2,279
That is really, really sad. Another European country subsidizing from its own will Lockeed with not even some real offsets when the least they could do would be to show some solidarity with their Swedish neighbours and buy Gripen. But no big surprise. This is Rasmussen ' s country .
Zebra
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2011
- Messages
- 6,060
- Likes
- 2,303
Anyway, real offsets............!
LM offered better business to JSF partners. If I am not wrong.
Tactical Frog
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2016
- Messages
- 1,542
- Likes
- 2,279
Loking at this I think they were right.
Zebra
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2011
- Messages
- 6,060
- Likes
- 2,303
https://news.vice.com/article/what-is-the-pentagons-multi-billion-f-35-jet-actually-supposed-to-do-1
What Is the Pentagon's Multi-Billion Dollar F-35 Jet Actually Supposed to D0?
By Ryan Faith
May 12, 2016 | 7:40 pm
This story is part one of a three-part series on the innovations, and the problems, of the F-35, the newest warplane entering service in the United States and with several allied nations.
The F-35 Lighting II is the most expensive weapons program in the history of the human race, and production is now being kicked into high gear. The main Lockheed Martin factory for the F-35, located in Fort Worth, Texas, is beginning the long ramp-up to get to full-scale production, which is expected by 2019. The F-35 is supposed to replace in whole or in part a large number of different aircraft types and is intended to operate for at least 50 years.
So, naturally, one of the very first things people want to know is whether or not the plane is any damned good. The US taxpayer is footing a bill that, over the next several decades, will run several hundred billion dollars and involve buying a couple thousand aircraft, and critics have complained that the jack-of-all-trades F-35 is a master of none.
In a bid to get a handle on that, VICE News went to Naval Air Station Patuxent River (a.k.a. Pax River) in Maryland to talk to some F-35 test pilots and get a fundamental grip on why and how the plane will be used. The Navy is the second-biggest customer of the plane, after the US Air Force and before the Marines and several allied nations. It plans to replace most of its F-18 Hornets with it.
US Navy Commander Christian "Wilson" Sewell, a top Navy F-35 test pilot at Pax River, is happy with his new ride. "I love the F-18, I grew up with the F-18, I'm a Hornet baby, but bottom line is that I'd take the F-35 into combat," said Sewell, who until a few weeks ago also ran a lot of the F-35 testing program.
But taking a machine into combat means many things. As you might expect, there are a ton of contentious (but not always well-informed) arguments about whether the F-35 is good, bad, or indifferent. But often those arguments miss the most basic question: What is the plane actually supposed to do?
To suss that out, it's best to start with the late Colonel John Boyd of the US Air Force, and his OODA Loop. The acronym stands for Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act, and it's a pretty decent model of how people or organizations make decisions (in war, business, and everything else).
There is a lot of nuance baked into the model, but a super simplified version of the OODA Loop is that first, some event occurs and someone notices it (Observe). That person then gets busy positioning herself mentally and physically to figure out why she gives a damn and what the hell she's supposed to think about all this (Orient). Now that she's facing the event, she chooses some course of action (Decide) and then actually does whatever it is she's going to do (Act). This action creates some sort of effect out there in the world. Whatever happens next is the new event that kicks off the cycle again. Wash, rinse, repeat..........
What Is the Pentagon's Multi-Billion Dollar F-35 Jet Actually Supposed to D0?
By Ryan Faith
May 12, 2016 | 7:40 pm
This story is part one of a three-part series on the innovations, and the problems, of the F-35, the newest warplane entering service in the United States and with several allied nations.
The F-35 Lighting II is the most expensive weapons program in the history of the human race, and production is now being kicked into high gear. The main Lockheed Martin factory for the F-35, located in Fort Worth, Texas, is beginning the long ramp-up to get to full-scale production, which is expected by 2019. The F-35 is supposed to replace in whole or in part a large number of different aircraft types and is intended to operate for at least 50 years.
So, naturally, one of the very first things people want to know is whether or not the plane is any damned good. The US taxpayer is footing a bill that, over the next several decades, will run several hundred billion dollars and involve buying a couple thousand aircraft, and critics have complained that the jack-of-all-trades F-35 is a master of none.
In a bid to get a handle on that, VICE News went to Naval Air Station Patuxent River (a.k.a. Pax River) in Maryland to talk to some F-35 test pilots and get a fundamental grip on why and how the plane will be used. The Navy is the second-biggest customer of the plane, after the US Air Force and before the Marines and several allied nations. It plans to replace most of its F-18 Hornets with it.
US Navy Commander Christian "Wilson" Sewell, a top Navy F-35 test pilot at Pax River, is happy with his new ride. "I love the F-18, I grew up with the F-18, I'm a Hornet baby, but bottom line is that I'd take the F-35 into combat," said Sewell, who until a few weeks ago also ran a lot of the F-35 testing program.
But taking a machine into combat means many things. As you might expect, there are a ton of contentious (but not always well-informed) arguments about whether the F-35 is good, bad, or indifferent. But often those arguments miss the most basic question: What is the plane actually supposed to do?
To suss that out, it's best to start with the late Colonel John Boyd of the US Air Force, and his OODA Loop. The acronym stands for Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act, and it's a pretty decent model of how people or organizations make decisions (in war, business, and everything else).
There is a lot of nuance baked into the model, but a super simplified version of the OODA Loop is that first, some event occurs and someone notices it (Observe). That person then gets busy positioning herself mentally and physically to figure out why she gives a damn and what the hell she's supposed to think about all this (Orient). Now that she's facing the event, she chooses some course of action (Decide) and then actually does whatever it is she's going to do (Act). This action creates some sort of effect out there in the world. Whatever happens next is the new event that kicks off the cycle again. Wash, rinse, repeat..........
- Joined
- May 5, 2011
- Messages
- 12,846
- Likes
- 8,556
Drone Swarm Will Fly Alongside F-35 Fighter Jet: Air Force Scientist
The Air Force’s chief scientist said F-35 fighter jet pilots will someday control a swarm of drones flying alongside the fighter jet to boost sensing, reconnaissance and targeting functions.
Today, the flight path, sensor payload and weapons disposal of aerial drones such as the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper are coordinated from ground crew ground control stations.
In the future, drones may be fully operated from the cockpit of advanced fighter jets such as the Joint Strike Fighter or F-22, Air Force Chief Scientist Greg Zacharias told Scout Warrior in an interview.
http://www.defensetech.org/2016/05/20/drone-swarm-will-fly-alongside-f-35-fighter-jet-air-force-scientist/
The Air Force’s chief scientist said F-35 fighter jet pilots will someday control a swarm of drones flying alongside the fighter jet to boost sensing, reconnaissance and targeting functions.
Today, the flight path, sensor payload and weapons disposal of aerial drones such as the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper are coordinated from ground crew ground control stations.
In the future, drones may be fully operated from the cockpit of advanced fighter jets such as the Joint Strike Fighter or F-22, Air Force Chief Scientist Greg Zacharias told Scout Warrior in an interview.
http://www.defensetech.org/2016/05/20/drone-swarm-will-fly-alongside-f-35-fighter-jet-air-force-scientist/
- Joined
- May 5, 2011
- Messages
- 12,846
- Likes
- 8,556
2 Dutch F-35As arrive in the Netherlands
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/a...-f-35s-arriving-at-leeuwarden-air-bas-425648/
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/a...-f-35s-arriving-at-leeuwarden-air-bas-425648/
- Joined
- May 5, 2011
- Messages
- 12,846
- Likes
- 8,556
The F-35 is a worldwide air surveillance platform since it is networked. and with many more countries set to operate this jet in the coming decades the surveillance coverage of the US-centric F-35 is massive:
I believe Canada will ultimately be on board the F-35 band wagon. It's security is ultimately intertwined with its neighbor.
I believe Canada will ultimately be on board the F-35 band wagon. It's security is ultimately intertwined with its neighbor.
- Joined
- May 5, 2011
- Messages
- 12,846
- Likes
- 8,556
UK begins in-flight refuelling trials of Voyager and F-35
http://www.janes.com/article/60538/uk-begins-in-flight-refuelling-trials-of-voyager-and-f-35
http://www.janes.com/article/60538/uk-begins-in-flight-refuelling-trials-of-voyager-and-f-35
- Joined
- May 5, 2011
- Messages
- 12,846
- Likes
- 8,556
How to replace the Tires on F-35
- Joined
- May 5, 2011
- Messages
- 12,846
- Likes
- 8,556
F-35's AN/APG-81 radar
- Joined
- May 5, 2011
- Messages
- 12,846
- Likes
- 8,556
F-35 Not Much Noisier Than F-16, Say Dutch
