Lightning will ground F35 fighter jet known as the Lightning II

The production of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter – the world’s most sophisticated and expensive combat aircraft – has been derailed after engineers discovered that the jet’s fuel tank could explode if struck by lightning.

The disclosure is a major setback for the aircraft, also known as the Lightning II, which is due to enter service with both the RAF and the Royal Navy by 2018.

Attempts to increase fuel efficiency by reducing the jet’s weight have also made it more vulnerable to enemy attack than the generation of aircraft it was supposed to replace.

The damaging findings were disclosed in a Pentagon document which revealed that a fault within the JSF’s fuel tank could potentially lead to catastrophic explosion if the aircraft was struck by lightning in a thunderstorm.

The report from the Pentagon’s Operational Test and Evaluation Office states that all test flying within 25 miles of thunderstorms is “not permitted” until a device in the fuel tank which maintains correct oxygen levels is redesigned.

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The fear of an exploding fuel tank is just one of a series of problem to befall the F-35 programme. A design fault in the fuel tank has also prevented the JSF being able to rapidly descend to low altitude.
The Pentagon report describes both failings as “unacceptable for combat or combat training”.
Examinations by the United States Air Force and the Lockheed Martin, the aircraft’s manufacturer, also discovered a handful of cracks in the tested aircraft, including on the right wing and right engine of the F-35A variant, and on another part of the F-35B variant.
“All of these discoveries will require mitigation plans and may include redesigning parts and additional weight,” the report added.
Britain is buying the F-35B – the short take-off and vertical landing version – as a replacement for the Harrier. The “multirole” plane will be used for air defence, ground attack and reconnaissance missions.
The F-35 has a top speed of 1,300mph and a range of 1,450 miles, while the Harrier could reach a speed of 700mph and had a range of 350 miles. The older aircraft also had no radar transparency or stealth capabilities, while the F-35 has both.

Junk F-35, Says POGO Director Amid Pricing, Underperformance Issues

Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter aircraft is an under-performing plane, according to Winslow Wheeler, Director of the Straus Military Reform Project of the Center for Defense Information, a part of the Project on Government Oversight.

      According to Wheeler, the F-35 is a mediocre aircraft because its “varied requirements force it to make compromises” and says that the aircraft should be boxed.

      Wheeler alleges that “manufacturer Lockheed Martin used a pricing vocabulary that masked the exorbitant costs”.

      “There is only one thing to do with the F-35: Junk it. America’s air forces deserve a much better aircraft, and the taxpayers deserve a much cheaper one. The dustbin awaits,” he told news website Foreign Policy.

      While not as expensive as F-22 Raptors, which cost upwards of $678 million apiece, the F-35 is the most expensive weapons program, with the total cost to buy and operate all F-35’s estimated to be more than $1.5 trillion, according to Foreign Policy.

      Meanwhile, ally Canada will have to rely on the U.S and other allies for air-to-air refueling of its F-35 aircraft because of the incompatibility between stealth fighters and Canada’s current refueling aircraft.

F-35 warplane facing turbulence at home and abroad

Soaring way over budget and lagging far behind schedule, the F-35 warplane – once billed as “affordably stealthy” – is facing severe political turbulence at home and skittish buyers abroad. The combination could doom the entire $1.45-trillion program.
In the heady days when the all-purpose fighter-bomber was launched, Pentagon planners expected to buy more than 3,000, including hundreds that could hover like a helicopter and land vertically for the U.S. Marines and others that could launch and land on the U.S. Navy’s massive aircraft carriers.
Manufacturer Lockheed Martin was hoping allies, including Canada, would line up to buy more than 1,000 additional F-35s to give their air forces deep-strike capacity in heavily defended airspace – think China – and the ability to drop laser-guided bombs capable of destroying deeply buried targets.
But foreign buyers are getting cold feet.
Monstrously expensive and crippled by delays, the F-35 now looks less like the answer to a wide array of air force renewal prayers than an albatross. There are fears it would drag defence budgets into a mire of ‘too much money for too few planes’ that are designed to fight a war that seems increasingly unlikely.
Every cancellation drives the unit cost of the remaining F-35s – although billed at roughly $161-million each – higher and higher.
Australia
Initial plans to buy up to 100 F-35s were scaled back after the urgent need to replace the Australian Air Force’s obsolete bombers became clear. So 24 updated F-18s were purchased. The newest-model F-18s are considered by many as a proven, far-less-expensive alternative to the F-35, although Canberra remains officially committed to the fighter. So far only 14 have been ordered and the decision on another 24 has been pushed back until 2015.
Britain
After first announcing it wanted 138 of the most-complicated F-35 variant, one that can land vertically like a helicopter and is the U.S. Marines’ version, Britain changed its order to the U.S. Navy aircraft-carrier version that was supposed to be 25-per-cent cheaper. Now with costs escalating on that model, too, the government may switch back – even though British test pilots are already flying a pre-production model in Texas. Many analysts expect the total number to be cut by 30 per cent or more. The government said it won’t decide until 2015. Firm orders to date: three; one is flying.
Denmark
Although a member of the F-35 consortium, Denmark has made no purchase commitment. Instead, decision has been pushed back and Copenhagen is now expected to upgrade a couple of dozen of its aging F-16.
Israel
In 2010, Israel ordered 20 F-35s from Lockheed Martin at a cost of $2.8-billion but isn’t expecting deliveries until 2017. Eventually it plans to buy 75 of the fifth-generation warplane to maintain its clear air warfare superiority in the Middle East, Because of F-35 delays, Israel’s powerful air force is looking at an interim buy of refurbished F-15s from Boeing.
Italy
Cash-strapped Italy, which originally announced that it wanted 131 F-35s – but didn’t sign a contract – has already slashed the planned purchase to 90 of the fighter-bombers. That too is expected to be cut way back. The navy needs 22 warplanes for its new, medium-sized aircraft carrier but that may become the total purchase.

Norway pushes for further assurances over JSM integration on F-35

London - Norway's deputy defence minister Eirik Øwre Thorshaug is to meet with officials from Lockheed Martin and the F-35s Joint Program Office in the first week of December, as Oslo seeks further assurances over the integration of the Kongsberg Joint Strike Missile (JSM) on to the stealthy fighter.

 

Oslo has committed to acquiring an initial four examples of the F-35A conventional take-off and landing variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, but securing the ability to field Kongsberg's "fifth-generation" munition was a pre-requisite for its order. It could eventually acquire up to 52 aircraft to replace its fleet of Lockheed F-16s, in a procurement exercise worth a total of NKr61.2 billion ($10.8 billion).

Although Norway has received what Thorshaug describes as "good signals on the political level" in its efforts to ensure integration, largely in the form of a letter from US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, he acknowledges the process "is not finished".

"We are pushing and leaning forward in that respect, towards both [Lockheed] and the US government," he said during an event in Kongsberg to mark the unveiling of the first JSM fuselage. "We will not rest or hesitate in bringing this issue to our partners or important US ally.

"For the Norwegian government it is crucial to get the JSM integrated, mainly because we need to be operationally capable in relation to our national defence needs."

The Royal Norwegian Air Force views the JSM, with its range of about 150nm (277km) and ability to target and attack heavily armed naval vessels, as a key asset for defending its lengthy coastline.

Edwards F-35A Completes First AIM-120 Amraam Internal Weapons Release

An F-35A test aircraft, flown by U.S. Air Force Maj. Matthew Phillips, completed the first aerial weapons release of an AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile) from a conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) aircraft, Oct. 19. The aircraft, known as AF-1, jettisoned the instrumented AIM-120 over the China Lake test range from an internal weapons bay. This was the second in-flight weapons release in three days for AF-1 as it completed the release of a 2,000 pound GBU-31 BLU-109 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) Oct. 16. The F-35A 5th Generation fighter is designed to carry a payload of up to 18,000 pounds using 10 weapon stations. The F-35A features four internal weapon stations located in two weapon bays to maximum stealth capability. The CTOL aircraft can also utilize an additional three weapon stations per wing if required. Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs about 120,000 people

F-35B Aircraft Test Flight with AIM-9X Sidewinder

U.S. Navy test pilot Lt. Christopher Tabert flew F-35B aircraft BF-3 with inert AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles Sept. 19 over the Atlantic Test Ranges.

The test flight evaluated airplane structural loads and flying qualities during maneuvering flight. The F-35B is the variant of the Joint Strike Fighter designed for use by U.S. Marine Corps, as well as F-35 international partners in the United Kingdom and Italy.

The F-35B is capable of short take-offs and vertical landings to enable air power projection from amphibious ships, ski-jump aircraft carriers and expeditionary airfields.

Air Force's F-35 recommendation was missing key information

Report did not have important data on competing aircraft

The Royal Canadian Air Force trumpeted the F-35 fighter jet to Canada’s defence minister as the best option for the country even though it was missing key information on competing aircraft, according to a Canadian military insider.
Steve Lucas, former Canadian chief of the air staff, acknowledges in an exclusive fifth estate interview, to air tonight, that the military's recommendation in 2006 to their political masters in Ottawa was based on incomplete data.
“With the stage we were at, at that point in time, not only did we do the glossy brochure examination, but we also went to each of the countries, spoke to each of them,” Lucas told the fifth estate.
But the air force report that backed that recommendation, obtained by the fifth estate, reveals that when the Canadian military visited four other nations that were peddling competing fighter jets they were denied classified information every time.
"Indeed, it does say at the bottom [of the report], more information is needed,” says Lucas. "But I guess I would characterize that as an appropriate level of examination for where we were at, at that point in time … knowing that there would be subsequent examination, more detailed examination as we develop the statement of requirements."
Despite the fact that the air force review was incomplete and the F-35 was still only in development, the brass recommended in a brief to the defence minister in September, 2006, that the F-35: "provides the best available operational capabilities to meet Canadian operational requirements, while providing the longest service life and lowest per aircraft cost of all options considered."

The Pentagon is losing patience on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

Development longer than expected the helmet prevents the Department of Defense to begin operational testing phase of their future hunter.

Problems accrue to the United States and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the new fighter army built by Lockheed Martin and expected to quickly replace the aging fleet of Boeing F/A-18 Hornets.

September 7, Pentagon officials were forced to postpone the phase of operational testing of the F-35, as it was programmed. Blame the ongoing challenges faced by high-tech helmet for future pilots, which is part of the defense systems of the machine.

Developed by Vision Systems International, a joint venture between Elbit Imaging Israeli and American Rockwell Collins, the helmet should allow users to see the data of the aircraft from all sensors, including floor and walls.

F-35 jet program funding unchanged despite promised Review

Canadian funding and participation in the F-35 stealth fighter jet program continues unchanged despite the Conservative government’s insistence it has launched a seven-point program to review the controversial purchase.
Steve O’Bryan, Lockheed Martin’s vice-president for F-35 program integration, says the company is still planning its deliveries of 65 of the jets to the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Canadian government procurement and military officials are still assigned to the fighter aircraft program office, the funding continues and plans are still on track to deliver the aircraft to Canada, O’Bryan said.
Canada has spent more than $200 million on its participation in the development of the aircraft so far, according to Defence Department documents.
“We’ve had no change in the program,” said O’Bryan. “I can only speak to the Lockheed Martin point of view and our interaction with Canadian officials.”
The previous Liberal government signed on to a research and development program for the plane, but the Conservatives committed Canada several years ago to purchasing the aircraft, making it a linchpin of their defence policy.

F-35 Milestone – Stealth Fighter Successfully Drops Bomb While in Flight

Lockheed Martin’s F-35 successfully released a weapon while airborne, the first time the stealth fighter has dropped a bomb while in flight.

The test, using an inert 1,000 lb. GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), was done Wednesday, Stephen O’Bryan, Lockheed’s Vice president for F-35 program integration, told Defence Watch.

“It is a big deal and it speaks to the maturity and growing maturity of the system,” he said.

Traveling at 400 knots at an altitude of 4,200 feet, a short take-off and vertical landing F-35 variant, released the munition over water in an Atlantic test range.

“While this weapons separation test is just one event in a series of hundreds of flights and thousands of test points that we are executing this year, it does represent a significant entry into a new phase of testing for the F-35 program,” Navy Capt. Erik Etz, director of test for F-35 naval variants, said in a statement.

The release was the first time for any version of the F-35 to conduct an airborne weapon separation, as well as the first from an internal weapons bay for a fighter aircraft designated for the U.S. Marine Corps, the United Kingdom and Italy, the U.S. military noted.

“[Using an internal weapons bay] speaks to how much capability the JSF is going to bring to the troops,” Dan Levin, Lockheed Martin test pilot for the mission, said in a statement.