Lockheed Dismisses Korea F-35 Schedule Issue

SINGAPORE — A Pentagon decision to reduce near-term F-35 purchases will not hinder Lockheed Martin from meeting South Korea’s demand for an early 2016 first delivery under the F-X3 fighter program, insists David Scott, director of F-35 international customer engagement for the prime contractor.

Current production capacity can build 48 aircraft annually, and with the U.S. looking to buy around 30 aircraft per year, there are slots to meet South Korea’s demands, as well as other near-term international buyers such as Japan, Turkey, Italy and Norway.

A Joint Strike Fighter steering board will convene soon to update and reconcile purchase plans. If there is need for extra tooling to be acquired either at Lockheed Martin or in the F-35 supply chain, there would be time to do so, Scott says.

The South Korean competition to supply 60 fighters will pit the F-35A against the Boeing F-15 Silent Eagle and, potentially, European bidders.

The international buys also will help maintain production of F-35s at a more economical rate, Scott notes.

Lockheed Martin would need a waiver to sell the fighter to South Korea because of a U.S. prohibition of exporting hardware before an aircraft has entered service with the U.S. The waiver is likely to be granted, though, with the U.S. government having already granted one for Japan.

Still unclear is what the next big F-35 competition will be overseas. The focus, after South Korea, likely will shift to solidifying plans with Singapore, Australia and others already involved in the program at various levels.

 

-aviationweek.com

-aerospaceweb.org

F-35As grounded due to ejection parachute issue

Fifteen new Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters, some of which are participating in the flight testing so critical to moving the troubled Joint Strike Fighter program forward, have been grounded owing to improper loading of parachutes in their ejection seats.

The suspension of flight and high-speed ground testing began Jan. 26 and affects aircraft at Edwards AFB, Calif., Eglin AFB, Fla., and Lockheed’s production facility in Fort Worth, Texas, according to Joe Dellavedova at the U.S.-led JSF Joint Program Office. The root cause was “improperly drafted packing procedures,” he adds.

The problematic chutes are not affecting eight test aircraft at NAS Patuxent River, Md., because they carry an earlier version of this seat and the parachutes were properly loaded, he says.

Parachutes for the Martin-Baker US16E-21 and -23 seats were “reversed 180 deg. from design during installation,” Dellavedova says, and replacement seats from British manufacturer Martin-Baker are expected to take 10 days to arrive. “This issue will not prevent the pilot from executing a successful ejection and landing in the unlikely event of a pilot ejection,” Dellavedova says. The problem was uncovered during a routine review, he says, adding that it is premature to discuss any penalties as a result of the mishap.

One industry source notes, however, that an ejection “would have likely caused passenger load factor injury” because pilots would “have hit the ground going backwards.” Because the parachutes were loaded backwards, their steering lines would also have been reversed, affecting a pilot’s ability to guide himself to a landing site.

The affected equipment will have to be shipped back to Martin-Baker’s factory in the U.K. for repair; the repacked chutes will then first be put on the six grounded aircraft at Edwards to return them to flight testing. The six F-35As and three F-35Bs at Eglin AFB, Fla. were already limited to ground operations pending “military flight release” from the Air Force to fly the aircraft unmonitored in the area. So they will be next to receive the newly packed boxes. Eglin flights were held up owing to concerns cited from the Pentagon’s chief tester last fall. Among them was a warning not to fly over water until the -24 seat, the model intended for the operational F-35, is available, owing to concerns of pilot drowning with the older seat versions.

“Aircraft in production at Fort Worth were also affected but their parachutes will be repacked prior to the first acceptance flights,” Dellavedova says.

This mishap comes as Goodrich, the only remaining U.S. ejection seat manufacturer, is in the final throes of attempting to unseat Martin-Baker on the F-35A, which is likely to be purchased by at least 11 countries, with the U.S. Air Force potentially buying as many as 1,763. Without a major program like the F-35, the company’s opportunities to get the Aces 5, the latest in its Aces family of seats, into a new service platform are grim in the near future. The next major opportunity would be the Air Force’s T-38C replacement program, which has yet to formally be kicked off.

Booz Allen Hamilton studied whether the USAF Air Combat Command’s (ACC) use of the Aces 5 seat for its F-35As would save money over the life of the fighter for the service, due to commonality with the Aces 2 seats already in its fleet. “That exhaustive analysis led us to conclude that, while there are potential savings associated with the Goodrich Aces 5 seat, the amount is not sufficiently compelling to warrant the risk and up-front cost of integrating a new ejection seat into the F-35 weapon system at this time,” says Capt. Jennifer Ferrau, an ACC spokeswoman. “ACC and the Air Force strongly support the Joint Program Office’s commitment to pursue efficiencies in order to secure greater value for all JSF stakeholders.”

Lawmakers last year requested information on the study, and the Air Force recently notified staffs of the conclusions. The study or its data will not be released, according to Ferrau, because it contains proprietary information about the pricing of the seats.

The Pentagon was slated to decide in a Joint Executive Steering Board meeting whether it would be open to adding the Goodrich seat to the F-35A in December. But the U.S. decision to slice as many as 179 F-35s from purchasing plans through 2017 prompted officials to move the meeting to March.

 

-aviationweek.com

Canada may not train F-35 pilots on its own soil

According to the internal air force documents, Canadian fighter pilots selected to fly the new F-35 could find themselves trained by either the Americans or a private contractor.

Internal air force memos from the fall of 2010 lay out the “potential for NO pilot training in Canada.”A separate briefing in April 2010 says the F-35 fleet size is “constrained” by cost and other factors.

The staggering multibillion-dollar purchase price means the government can only afford 65 of the multi-role stealth fighters. The number (Canada currently has 79 aging CF-18s) stretches the ability of the air force to meet its commitments, says a series of briefings given to the air force chief last year.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay has said 65 F-35 fighters are more than enough to meet Canada’s needs, but the briefing raises questions about that because the air force must keep 36 fighters on standby for North American air defence and another dozen for training.

The spring 2010 assessment, written before the government announced its intention to purchase the F-35 jets, suggested the air force “optimize operational capability by not employing (a) portion of the fleet for training.”

The presentations rank training with either the U.S. Air Force – or a contracted “fee-for-service” approach – as better than doing it in Canada. Under the proposal, pilots would continue to receive their initial qualification in the country, but go elsewhere for advanced training.

“The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) is currently reviewing available options and will choose the option that best meets the needs of Canada’s future fighter pilot training,” said Evan Koronewski in an email response.

Source: CTV News

South Korea: F-35 could meet F-X Phase 3 program deadline

The South Korean air force rates all of the Western competitors for its F-X Phase 3 fighter program, including the F-35 Lightning, as capable of meeting the in-service date of 2016, an assessment that appears to raise the chances of the Lockheed Martin aircraft.

The air force does not express the same view on the fourth and most recent competitor for the planned 60-aircraft order, the Sukhoi PAK FA.

The Eurofighter Typhoon is in service and can therefore meet the schedule, the air force says in an unpublished briefing paper. And although it notes that the F-35 and the Boeing F-15SE Silent Eagle are not fully developed, the air force says they can be ready in time.

That judgment is less important for the F-15SE than for the F-35. The Boeing fighter would be modified for the SE version mainly by introducing fly-by-wire flight controls, adapting its conformal fuel tanks to house weapon bays and by canting the tail fins with a straightforward structural change—objectives that should be achievable well before 2016.

But for the Lightning the air force’s assessment seems to sweep aside concerns that, while the stealth fighter is especially well suited to the air-to-ground part of the F-X Phase 3 requirement, its repeatedly delayed development schedule has become uncomfortably tight for South Korea’s needs.

The U.S. Air Force does not expect its F-35As to be operational until 2018. Its definition of initial operational capability is more demanding than South Korea’s, but the U.S. schedule offers little reassurance for potential buyers that would need the aircraft earlier.

Even if the South Korean air force’s assessment is not realistic, the expression of that view at least means that the service is willing to proceed as if the F-35 complies fully with its requirements. And if the air force is bending the rules for the F-35, then it seems to be showing a preference for it.

On the other hand, the F-X Phase 3 program could be delayed, giving more time for Lockheed Martin to meet the schedule. The company has said it could deliver aircraft to South Korea in 2016—but that is not the same as establishing an operational capability.

In the briefing paper, the air force is silent on the question of whether the PAK FA would be ready in time. The failure to endorse the Russian fighter’s schedule can only raise concerns that the aircraft, a late entry into the race, is regarded as only a stalking horse for the Western fighters.

 

-aviationweek.com

Steam catapult launches F-35C

The F-35C completed its first steam catapult launch July 27 marking another milestone toward initial ship trials in 2013. Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Launch and Recovery Equipment) Brandon Barr used a TC-13 Mod 2 test steam catapult, representative of current fleet technology, launching F-35C test aircraft CF-3 into the sky.

“It was great to be able to be a part of this milestone in the F-35C test program,” said Navy test pilot Lt. Chris Tabert.

CF-3 is the designated carrier suitability testing aircraft, assigned to the F-35 integrated test facility at Naval Air Station Patuxent River.

“Our first trip here to Lakehurst went very smoothly because of the true collaboration and hard work from the integrated team,” said Tom Briggs, government air vehicle engineering manager. “We look forward to another productive visit and staying on track for initial ship trials.”

In addition to the catapult launches at varying power levels, the integrated test team will execute a test plan over three weeks to include dual-aircraft jet blast deflector testing and catapult launches using a degraded catapult configuration to measure the effects of steam ingestion on the aircraft.

The F-35C carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter is distinct from the F-35A and F-35B variants. It has larger wing surfaces and reinforced landing gear for slower catapult launch and landing approach speeds and deck impacts associated with the demanding carrier take-off and landing environment. The F-35C is undergoing test and evaluation at NAS Patuxent River prior to eventual delivery to the fleet.

Source: NAVAIR

USAF Weapons School to get F-35s

The U.S. Air Force has issued a Record of Decision for the proposed basing of F-35A Lightning II aircraft at Nellis Air Force Base.

USAF will bring 36 F-35 fighters to Nellis Air Force Base starting from next year till 2020. The decision is to proceed with the preferred alternative, which entails basing 36 F-35 fighter aircraft at Nellis AFB between 2012 and 2020 for the Force Development Evaluation and Weapons School programs.

The F-35 has been designed to have a low radar cross section primarily due to stealthy materials used in construction, including fiber-mat.Unlike the previous generation of fighters, the F-35 was designed with a shape for low-observable characteristics.

Implementation of this action will be accomplished as set out in the Final Environmental Impact Statement released in May 2011.

The beddown of the F-35 mission at Nellis will result in an increase of 412 personnel; require construction of new facilities, as well as alteration and demolition of existing facilities at Nellis AFB. Flight activities will occur at Nellis AFB and the Nevada Test and Training Range.

Potential impacts associated with implementing the Preferred Alternative were analyzed during the Environmental Impact Statement process.

The Final Environmental Impact Statement contains public and agency comments received on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement as well as responses to comments.

Source: www.nellis.af.mil

Israel, U.S. Strike F-35 Technology Deal

A major obstacle blocking Israel’s purchase of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has been cleared, perhaps signaling that the U.S. is relaxing its hard-line approach to exporting JSF technologies that may be crucial to securing additional foreign sales.

The U.S. has been cautious about sharing sensitive technologies for the stealth fighter, but existing program partners and international competitions—­such as in Japan—are increasing pressure on it to do so. The breakthrough comes as more international JSF partners near buying decisions. However, the added numbers will likely have only little impact on the debate about the F-35 unit cost, since initial procurement numbers for non-U.S. buyers are relatively small compared to the Pentagon’s purchases.

By far the most contentious fight over F-35 technology has centered on Israel, which wants to adapt the aircraft to use indigenously developed electronic warfare (EW) equipment. After strongly resisting this for some time, Washington now has agreed to allow Israeli F-35s to be rewired so that Israeli EW systems can be installed on the aircraft. That would allow Israel to gradually add indigenous EW sensors and countermeasures on its fighters once it receives its first squadron.

With that deal in hand, officials for both the Israeli air force and Lockheed Martin expect the $2.7 billion contract for the procurement of 19 or 20 F-35As will be signed by early next year.

“I believe that Israel could receive its first F-35s in late 2016,” Tom Burbage, Lockheed Martin’s general manager of the F-35 program, tells Aviation Week. A senior Israeli air force official, who until recently was concerned about delays in the program, says the schedule agreed upon is “very satisfactory.”

The Israeli air force initially presented a long list of unique and costly requirements for the JSF, but it has accepted that its first F-35s will be almost identical to those of the U.S. Air Force, with only Israeli command, control, computers, communications and intelligence (C4I) systems installed in them. The plans to add Israeli EW systems, air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions as well as an external fuel tank, were approved in principle but will be deferred in order to protect the budgetary framework and delivery schedule.

Until recently, Israel insisted that only its own EW systems would be suitable to meet the developing anti-aircraft threat in the region, such as the deployment of SA-17 and SA-22 air defense systems in Syria. But now, claims the Israeli air force official, “the F-35s we will receive will be more than ready to meet those threats.”

According to the program schedule, Israeli F-35s will be manufactured within the seventh and eighth low-rate initial production (LRIP) lot. The LRIP 5 cost is being negotiated by the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin. “Israel could still be the first international customer to receive the JSF,” says Burbage.

One issue that remains to be settled between the two countries is when Israeli air force crews will begin training on the F-35s and on whose platforms. Burbage says training could commence in 2016, but it is for the Pentagon to decide which aircraft will be made available for Israeli training.

Facing a series of tectonic shifts in the region, some perceived as threatening, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are drafting a new work plan for 2013-17. The underlying assumption of the plan is that the dramatic changes in the Middle East could turn peaceful neighbors to the country’s south, such as Egypt, and to the east, such as Jordan, more hostile to Israel. The IDF consequently aim to build a larger, more flexible force that will be capable of dealing with more than the traditional northern front of Syria and Lebanon. The Israeli air force claims to be the only service with that flexibility, and it calls for accelerating the plan to procure 75 F-35s by 2030.

In the coming years, the air force will begin decommissioning dozens of its aging fighters, such as F-16A/Bs and F-15A/Bs, and with only 20 new F-35s, its fighter fleet will reach its lowest point ever.

However, there is strong competition for funding. Israeli ground commanders argue that because of the potential threat that the giant and modern Egyptian army would be turned against Israel, it is necessary to establish an additional mechanized division, equipped with Merkava tanks and the new Namer armored personnel carrier. The production of the Merkava-based Namer was moved to General Dynamics Land Systems in the U.S. in order to enable Israel to procure them using U.S. military aid funding, the same funding source used to acquire the F-35s.

Still unclear is whether the U.S.-Israeli deal means Washington is recognizing that it needs to be more pragmatic in terms of JSF technology controls to secure international deals. Program officials do note that any foreign buyer will have the same level of stealth with which the U.S. will operate.

A key test of how much the technology transfer approach has changed will come in Japan, which recently issued a request for proposals for new fighters. Japan has specified a high degree of technology transfer and work on the program, with an expressed interest in a domestic assembly line. U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. C.D. Moore, deputy director of the JSF program, says the government is working closely with Lockheed Martin and engine provider Pratt & Whitney to put together an attractive deal. However, he also points out that Japan has ranked capabilities as the most important source selection criteria, even ahead of industrial participation and life-cycle cost.

Australia and Italy are expected to be among the next countries ready to commit to buying JSFs, likely placing their first contracts as part of next year’s LRIP 6 package. Turkey is expected to come soon after. Although the Norwegian government recently put forward a proposal to buy the first four F-35s of its larger procurement, the actual contract for that deal may not be signed for another three years.

Meanwhile, Denmark is planning a fighter competition and is expected to make a choice quickly. Pending elections in Copenhagen could even see an acceleration of the competitive time line. The F-35 would face stiff competition from the Boeing F/A-18E/F, Saab Gripen and Eurofighter Typhoon.

 

-aviationweek.com

F-35 JSF Makes First Air Show Appearance

The F-35C Joint Strike Fighter made its first public appearance at an air show last May 21st.

The flight commemorated 100 years of naval aviation by highlighting the future of tactical air power for the U.S. Navy.

Piloted by Lt. Cmdr. Eric “Magic” Buus, the F-35C made a single pass down the show line at the Joint Service Open House at Andrews Air Force Base, Md.

The F-35C variant of the joint strike fighter is distinct from the F-35A and F-35B versions with its larger wing surfaces and reinforced landing gear for greater control in the demanding carrier take-off and landing environment.

The flyover originated from the F-35C‘s primary test site at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. and was executed in the same manner as any controlled test sortie. The aircraft, CF-2, flew within its approved flight envelope and was accompanied by an F-18 Hornet flying chase.

The F-35C is the Navy’s first stealth aircraft. The internal structure of the US Navy variant is strengthened to handle the loads associated with catapult launches and arrested landings. A larger wingspan provides increased range and improves low-speed handling characteristics for the Navy aircraft. Like the US Marine Corps variant, the US Navy variant carries a refueling probe on the right side of the forward fuselage. Range and payload are superior to legacy strike fighters. Weapon loads, cockpit layout, countermeasures, radar, and other features are common with the other variants.

Source: Air-Attack, Global Security

All grounded F-35s to resume flying

 

The Pentagon has cleared all grounded F-35s to resume flight testing after discovering the root cause behind the March 9 twin generator failures of an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) airplane.

The program office said Friday night that faulty maintenance procedures were found to have caused the in-flight failure of the engine generators of the F-35 JSF fighter.

This month, a U.S. Air Force F-35A test aircraft, numbered AF-4, suffered a failure of the generators during a test flight from Edwards Air Force Base. The test pilot was able to use the backup electrical generator to return safely to base.

The configuration of the generator on AF-4 and other, newer F-35s was different than the original installation on the first test aircraft, and the problem was traced to the newer, or alternate, configuration.

Test aircraft with the earlier configuration – three F-35As and four Marine Corps F-35Bs – were cleared on March 14 to resume flight operations.

Three other test aircraft – AF-4, BF-5 and CF-1, the first Navy F-35C - remained grounded, along with the first two low-rate initial production F-35As, while the investigation continued.

According to the program office, the investigation revealed that the maintenance procedure for the alternate engine starter/generator configuration allowed excess oil in the generator’s lubrication system.

Source: DefenseNews

Lockheed Martin Flies First Production F-35 Stealth Fighter

The first production model of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II made its inaugural flight last February 25th in preparation for delivery to the U.S. Air Force this spring. The jet will head to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to support developmental testing shortly after the Air Force takes delivery.

“The aircraft was rock-solid from takeoff to landing, and successfully completed all the tests we put it through during the flight,” said Lockheed Martin Test Pilot Bill Gigliotti. “The Air Force is getting a great jet that represents a huge leap in capability, and we’re looking forward to getting it into the hands of the service pilots in just a few more weeks.”

During the flight, the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) F-35A variant, known as AF-6, underwent basic flight maneuvering and engine tests. Test Pilot Gigliotti took off from Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base at 3:05 p.m. CST and landed at 4:05 p.m. The jet will continue flight tests in Fort Worth for about a month before it is accepted by the Air Force.

The F-35A CTOL variant – designed to meet U.S. Air Force requirements – is also the primary export version of the Lightning II. The air forces of Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Norway and Israel will employ the F-35A.

Deliveries of the F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing variant to the U.S. Marine Corps also begin this year, while deliveries of the F-35C carrier variant to the U.S. Navy start in 2012. Seventeen F-35s have entered testing since December 2006, and have logged more than 650 flights and numerous ground tests.

- air-attack