F-35 News

[cabeça de martelo]

F-35B Pilots Will Make Rolling Landings Like This To Board Royal Navy Carriers
This new method of landing could unlock new possibilities for the F-35B.





http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/13 ... y-carriers

Muito interessante, em vez dos F-35 B aterrarem verticalmente, vão aterrar horizontalmente a 57 nós, diminuindo o consumo de combustível, diminuindo o esforço estrutural do caça e diminuindo os custos de manutenção e operação.

[P44]

Belgium – F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft
(Source: Defense Security Cooperation Agency; issued Jan 18, 2018)
WASHINGTON --- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Belgium of thirty-four (34) F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Conventional Take Off and Landing aircraft for an estimated cost of $6.53 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

The Government of Belgium has requested to buy thirty-four (34) F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Conventional Take Off and Landing (CTOL) aircraft, and -- thirty-eight (38) Pratt & Whitney F-135 engines (34 installed, 4 spares).

Also included are Electronic Warfare Systems; Command, Control, Communications, Computer and Intelligence/Communications, Navigational, and Identification (C4I/CNI); Autonomic Logistics Global Support System (ALGS); Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS); Full Mission Trainer; Weapons Employment Capability, and other Subsystems, Features, and Capabilities; F-35 unique infrared flares; Reprogramming center; F-35 Performance Based Logistics; software development/integration; aircraft ferry and tanker support; support equipment; tools and test equipment; communications equipment; spares and repair parts; personnel training and training equipment; publications and technical documents; U.S. Government and contractor engineering and logistics personnel services; and other related elements of logistics and program support.

The estimated total case value is $6.53 billion.

This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of an ally and partner nation which has been, and continues to be, an important force for political and economic stability in Western Europe.

This proposed sale of F-35s will provide Belgium with a credible defense capability to deter aggression in the region and ensure interoperability with U.S. forces. The proposed sale will augment Belgium's operational aircraft inventory and enhance its air-to-air and air-to-ground self-defense capability. Belgium will have no difficulty absorbing these aircraft into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The prime contractors will be Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Fort Worth, TX; and Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, CT. This proposal is being offered in the context of a competition. If the proposal is accepted, it is expected that offset agreements will be required. All offsets are defined in negotiations between the Purchaser and the contractor.

Implementation of this proposed sale will require multiple trips to Belgium involving U.S. Government and contractor representatives for technical reviews/support, program management, and training over the life of the program. U.S. contractor representatives will be required in Belgium to conduct Contractor Engineering Technical Services (CETS) and Autonomic Logistics and Global Support (ALGS) for after-aircraft delivery.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.


(EDITOR’S NOTE At today’s rate, the $6.53 billion cost of the 34 F-35s offered to Belgium equates to 5.33 billion euros, which is 48% higher than the 3.6 billion euro budget that Belgium has allocated to buy its new fighters.
A spokesman for Belgian Defense Minister Steven Vandeput told Belga news agency that the cost figure was “premature,” and that the final price would be determined once the ministry’s own experts have evaluated the Best And Final Offers (BAFO) due on Feb. 14.
In fact, Vandeput’s spokesman might well have been referring to the announcement itself as being premature, which it was.
Lockheed and the DCSA were undoubtedly hoping to keep the price under wraps until after the Feb. 14 deadline for the BAFO.
However, it was the prospect of the shutdown of the US Federal Government on Friday night that prompted the DSCA to issue its notification of Congressional approval. In fact, the DCSA has shut down, and its website as well – which is why the above notification is dated Jan. 18.
This notification also confirms the unit cost of an F-35A is $190 million – over twice the $85 million price that Lockheed is still claiming – and which is very close to the $206 million that we determined for Lot 5 aircraft being delivered in 2017.
And those $190 million do not include the cost of ground equipment and weapons – both things that are required for a warplane to fly combat missions.
So far, governments in Italy, Norway, Denmark and the UK swallowed the Pentagon’s bait, along with its hook, line and sinker, but they did not know the true cost of the planes they were buying.
Even the UK government, which is the largest non-US F-35 partner, still cannot tell Parliament how much they cost.
But now, as Belgium is in the unique position of knowing the true price of all three candidates before it signs an order, Vandeput and the government cabinet will be able to show how good negotiators they are.)


Story History
-- Jan 22 @ 18:00 GMT: edited final paragraphs for clarity.


-ends-

[Túlio]

Notar que USD 6,53B para 34 caças 5G não é tão mais do que USD 5,4B para 36 caças 4,5G; não obstante, devemos notar também que no primeiro caso temos uma simples compra "de prateleira", enquanto no segundo se trata de uma aeronave customizada para a FAB, com peças e partes (e também montagem final de uma parte do lote) desenvolvidas e feitas no Brasil, além de pleno acesso aos softwares, o que mui dificilmente será concedido a qualquer cliente do F-35.

Assim, do mesmo modo que considero esta possível aquisição um excelente negócio para os Belgas (OTAN), igualmente considero o Gripen E/F excelente para o Brasil. Não temos uma Rússia ali pertinho para Temer (perdoem mas o trocadilho foi inevitável)...

[cabeça de martelo]

Japan Considers Purchase Of Additional 25 US-built F-35A Stealth Fighters

The Japanese government is considering purchase of additional 25 or more Lockheed Martin-built F-35A aircraft, to be directly purchased from the US plant rather than assemble locally.

"In view of budgets and production schedules, a new acquisition of around 25 planes is appropriate," a Japanese official told Reuters Wednesday.

According to the report, Tokyo is looking to save about $30 million per plane if the plan to acquire directly from Lockheed's US-based plant takes place.

At present, the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries plant in Komaki, Japan, is already developing thirty-eight of the 42 F-35A aircraft under a contract signed in 2011.

It was reported in December last year, that Tokyo was also considering the possibility of acquiring US-made F-35B fighter jets in future, as it is looking into remodelling Tokyo’s Izumo helicopter carrier.

However, Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said the government was not taking any concrete steps towards refitting the Izumo.

"Regarding our defence posture, we are constantly conducting various examinations. But no concrete examination is under way on the introduction of F-35B or remodelling of Izumo-class destroyers," Onodera said.

Japan's first F-35A aircraft are deployed in northern Japan to conduct surveillance on North Korea and protect Japanese airspace. It replaces aging F-4 Phantom fighters that date back to 1960s. The next batch will allow Japan to retire some of the aging 200 F-15s flown by the ASDF that are the main interceptor workhorse of the nation's air defences.

http://www.defenseworld.net/news/22024/ ... o_uFq5l-Ul

[arcanjo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9HqVXGRJL0

abs.

arcanjo

[cabeça de martelo]

Stealth features responsible for half of F-35 defects, Lockheed program head states
By: Valerie Insinna

WASHINGTON — As the production rate of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 joint strike fighter goes up, the company is wrestling with quality escapes involving the jet’s low observability features, which now amount to about half of all defects on the aircraft, the company’s vice president of the program revealed Monday.

Last week, Vice Adm. Mat Winter, the head of the government’s F-35 Joint Program Office, slammed Lockheed for what he sees as its too-slow progress on eliminating so-called quality escapes — errors made by Lockheed’s workforce that could include drilling holes that are too big or installing a dinged part.

While those errors are minor, the rework done to bring the plane up to requirements is driving up the amount of money and time spent producing an airplane, Winter said.

Speaking to reporters at Lockheed’s media day on Monday, Jeff Babione acknowledged that low observability, or LO, capabilities in particular are posing a challenge to the company.

In part, that’s because they are so unique and because production is ramping up quickly.

“That’s something that no other weapon system since the F-22 has had to do, and the F-22 never did it at the rates that we’re trying to do it. Once we get a handle on that, you’re going to see a dramatic reduction in the quality escapes that are made around the LO system,” he said.

In order to reduce the F-35’s signature, the panels making up its airframe must be precisely aligned. As each panel goes through the production process — build, then installation, then joining to other panels — small deviations can make it very difficult to meet standards, even for an experienced mechanic.

“It’s not a human problem; that’s just the result of our ability. We’re approaching the limits of our ability to build some of these things from precise-enough technology,” Babione said.


Still, he allowed that some human error remains.

“On the other hand, we inadvertently scratch the coating system, and we have to repaint it. Or when the mechanics spray the airplane [with LO coating], not all of it is robotically sprayed. There’s some overspray, and they have to go clean that,” he said.

Babione called decreasing the number of manufacturing defects on the F-35 a “huge, huge priority,” and for good reason. The company has had a couple of high-profile quality escape issues that have grounded operational F-35s , or had the potential to set back the number of planned aircraft deliveries.


Most recently, in September, the Defense Department temporarily halted F-35 deliveries for a month after it found Lockheed had not applied a primer in certain fastener holes, as per requirements. The error, though minor, needed to be corrected to prevent future corrosion on the aircraft and could have kept the company from delivering all planned 66 F-35s last year.

In 2016, the Air Force grounded 15 F-35s after coolant tube insulation installed in the wings of the jet was found to be breaking down. Ultimately, Lockheed determined that one of its suppliers had delivered the wrong insulation.

Babione said company is taking a two-pronged approach to cutting down on defects.

“Quality starts at the very lowest supplier and what are we doing is to ensure that quality is coming up to the supply chain as good as it can get,” he said. That means blocking faulty parts from ever getting to Lockheed’s production line in Fort Worth to “stop the quality issues from coming up in the first place.”

But to cut down the number of LO-related quality escapes, Lockheed is also taking steps to make it easier for workers to build the aircraft, whether through increased training or improved practices, he said without elaborating.

For the F-35 Joint Program Office, reducing the rework on the aircraft will help it close in on the “true cost” of the aircraft, allowing the government to push Lockheed’s price per aircraft as low as possible, Winter said last week at a roundtable with reporters.

It’s also seen as critical for keeping Lockheed’s delivery schedule as planned, with no future delays as production ramps up from 66 jets last year to about 90 this year and beyond, he said.

“I don’t have concerns that we’ll be able to keep having aircraft coming down the line and putting them together and delivering them. We’ll be able to do that,” he said. “But I have concerns that we might not be able to do it at the rate that our war fighter has asked us to do it.”

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/03 ... ad-states/

[knigh7]

Luftwaffe chief dismissed over F-35 support
Sebastian Schulte, Berlin - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
16 March 2018

The Chief of the Luftwaffe is to leave his position in large part due to his support for a German procurement of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), Jane’s has learned.

Lieutenant General Karl Müllner will leave his position by the end of May, with the news of his retirement breaking just two days after Germany’s defence secretary, Ursula von der Leyen, was sworn in for another term.

Jane’s understands that Gen Müllner’s outspoken public support for the JSF as a successor to the German Tornado fleet was pivotal in the decision for his early retirement. “The Luftwaffe considers the F-35’s capability as the benchmark for the selection process for the Tornado replacement, and I think I have expressed myself clearly enough as to what the favourite of the air force is,” Gen Müllner told Jane’s and other media in November 2017.

The Chief of the Luftwaffe’s active support of the JSF clashes with current Ministry of Defence planning, which prefers a successor solution involving the Eurofighter Typhoon.

http://www.janes.com/article/78644/luft ... 35-support

[knigh7]

F-35: custo do upgrade Block 4 quadruplica, mas pode não ser suficiente
10 de Março de 2018

FONTE: Defense-Aerospace.com

link para a matéria traduzida:

Via: http://www.aereo.jor.br/2018/03/10/f-35 ... uficiente/

[knigh7]

notícia ruim sobre o F-35 número 749324423543543

USAF pode perder um terço dos F-35 se custos de manutenção não forem cortados

Por Antony Capaccio

A Força Aérea dos EUA pode ter que reduzir em um terço as compras do F-35 da Lockheed Martin, se não conseguir encontrar maneiras de reduzir os custos operacionais e de apoio em até 38% em uma década, segundo um relatório interno.

O déficit forçaria o serviço a subtrair 590 dos aviões de combate dos 1.763 que planeja encomendar, informou o escritório da Força Aérea encarregado de avaliar o impacto do F-35 nas operações e orçamentos, em uma avaliação obtida pela Bloomberg News.

Embora o Departamento de Defesa tenha dito que ganhou controle sobre os custos para desenvolver e produzir uma frota de 2.456 jatos F-35 para a Força Aérea, Marinha e Fuzileiros Navais – agora projetados em US$ 406 bilhões – a análise interna ressalta os desafios atuais e iminentes de manter e operar os aviões de combate.

Pode custar até US$ 1,1 trilhão para manter os F-35 voando e mantidos até 2070, de acordo com a estimativa atual da unidade de custo independente do Pentágono.

Um gráfico na análise da Força Aérea, que foi concluída em dezembro, disse que o serviço tem “visibilidade muito limitada de como” os fundos crescentes que vão para a Lockheed para o “suporte do contratante” são gastos.

Primeira divulgação
A análise representa a primeira divulgação pública do impacto potencial se os custos de apoio não forem reduzidos. Usando dados desenvolvidos em 2012, a Força Aérea enfrenta uma fatura anual de cerca de US$ 3,8 bilhões por ano, que deve ser reduzida na próxima década.

A análise da Força Aérea não representa nada perto de uma decisão final, de acordo com a porta-voz Ann Stefanik. A redução potencial no número de aeronaves foi uma “avaliação da equipe sobre a acessibilidade das aeronaves. É prematuro que a Força Aérea considere comprar menos aeronaves neste momento”, disse Stefanik.

A Força Aérea está trabalhando com o escritório do programa F-35 do Pentágono para alcançar a redução de 38% nos custos operacionais e de apoio até 2028, dos US$ 38 bilhões calculados em 2012, acrescentou.

As preocupações de suporte a longo prazo estão no topo dos atuais desafios do F-35, incluindo falta de peças, aeronaves não disponíveis e problemas técnicos que devem ser resolvidos à medida que o programa termina sua fase de desenvolvimento de 17 anos. Em setembro, o F-35 deve iniciar até um ano de rigorosos testes de combate exigidos por lei. Testes bem-sucedidos desencadeariam produção com cadência total, a fase mais lucrativa para a Lockheed, no final de 2019.

O programa do F-35 está acelerando: o congresso financiou 90 jatos, ou 20 a mais do que o solicitado, na conta de gastos do ano fiscal atual.

Custos da Lockheed
Metade das operações e despesas de suporte estão atreladas aos custos da Lockheed e incluem “gerenciamento de programas, manutenção de parques, reparo de peças, manutenção de software, engenharia”, disse Stefanik. Esses custos “estão crescendo com o aumento das horas de voo. A Força Aérea está trabalhando para obter visibilidade dos dados de custo para entender melhor as razões para o crescimento”, disse ela.

Os custos restantes são gerenciados pela Força Aérea, incluindo pessoal militar e combustível, disse ela. Os custos de manutenção do F-35 também são um desafio para os aliados que compram o avião, incluindo o Reino Unido, a Austrália e a Itália.

Stephen Lovegrove, o segundo oficial de defesa civil do Reino Unido, disse a repórteres em um café da manhã do Defense Writers Group em Washington que, embora o F-35 “esteja fazendo tudo o que esperávamos”, seu país também está lutando contra o tamanho e o escopo dos custos futuros de suporte para uma “plataforma muito, muito complicada”.

Lovegrove, o secretário permanente do Ministério da Defesa, disse que estaria discutindo o “território ligeiramente desconhecido” dos custos de longo prazo em reuniões com funcionários do programa F-35. O Reino Unido está comprando 138 da versão do F-35 do Corpo de Fuzileiros Navais, projetado para ser transportado em porta-aviões.

“Frustrado”
“Eu sou constantemente questionado pelos parlamentares do Reino Unido sobre o custo total e eles ficam, algumas vezes, compreensivelmente, um pouco frustrados quando eu tenho que dizer a eles: ‘No momento ninguém tem certeza’”, disse Lovegrove.

O U.S. Government Accountability Office disse em um relatório de outubro que “há pouca dúvida” que o F-35 “traz capacidades únicas para as forças armadas americanas, mas sem revisar os planos de sustentação” as forças armadas “correm o risco de serem incapazes de alavancar as capacidades da aeronave comprada recentemente.”

É um sentimento compartilhado pela subsecretária Ellen Lord, a principal compradora de armas do Pentágono, que disse a repórteres em janeiro que “neste momento, não podemos arcar com os custos de manutenção que temos com o F-35”. E estamos comprometidos em mudar isso.”

FONTE: Bloomberg News
via
http://www.aereo.jor.br/2018/03/28/usaf ... -cortados/

[knigh7]

Aproveitando o gancho da matéria.

O F-35 pode se tornar um F-22. O Raptor ainda hoje apresenta problemas de integração,fato pelo qual eles acabam desistindo. E dificuldade de upgrades.

O F-22 é extremamente capaz, mas a complexidade dele, e inclui o trabalho de manutenção, faz com que ele acabe se tornando uma aeronave de emprego com boa limitação. Isso pode ocorrer com o F-35 (ele é assim, mas ele tem boas chances de continuar assim).

A propósito segue o link do documento mais recente do GAO sobre o F-35:

https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-75

[knigh7]

Caças F-35 de Israel sobrevoam o Irã

http://www.aereo.jor.br/2018/03/29/caca ... oam-o-ira/

[Bolovo]

Caças F-35 de Israel sobrevoam o Irã

http://www.aereo.jor.br/2018/03/29/caca ... oam-o-ira/

Pra mim é lenda urbana.
Além de desnecessário, seria um risco muito grande pra nada.

[knigh7]

Eu também achei a matéria meio exagerada para ser tudo verdade.
A notícia pode ter sido plantada pelo Mossad.

[Carlos Lima]

x2

[]s
CB

[knigh7]

Notar que USD 6,53B para 34 caças 5G não é tão mais do que USD 5,4B para 36 caças 4,5G; não obstante, devemos notar também que no primeiro caso temos uma simples compra "de prateleira", enquanto no segundo se trata de uma aeronave customizada para a FAB, com peças e partes (e também montagem final de uma parte do lote) desenvolvidas e feitas no Brasil, além de pleno acesso aos softwares, o que mui dificilmente será concedido a qualquer cliente do F-35.

Assim, do mesmo modo que considero esta possível aquisição um excelente negócio para os Belgas (OTAN), igualmente considero o Gripen E/F excelente para o Brasil. Não temos uma Rússia ali pertinho para Temer (perdoem mas o trocadilho foi inevitável)...

Vale ressaltar que o contrato de aquisição do GripenNG foi feito em Coroas suecas e naquela época ela estava em alta.

Trecho da nota oficial da FAB explicando com valores:



fonte: http://www.fab.mil.br/noticias/mostra/2 ... -Gripen-NG

Atualmente aquele valor está em USD 4,79 bilhões:



link: https://economia.uol.com.br/cotacoes/

Quando o contrato se tornou efetivo, em 9 de setembro de 2015, o banco de fomento sueco, cujo fiador é o Governo Sueco, pôde começar a liberar os valores para SAAB. A empresa sueca assim pôde assinar os contratos com os fornecedores, especialmente aqueles que estão fora da suécia e os contratos são em euros e dólares, e realizar operações de hedge (cerca de 1/3 do custo do GripenNG é coroas suecas, outro 1/3 em dólar e 1/3 em euros).