F-35 Lightning II: News thread

Finty wrote:
The Argonauts will deploy with the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group later this summer, Cmdr. Zach Harrell, spokesperson for Commander, Naval Air Forces, said in an email Monday. The unit is anticipated to be fully ready for combat "as planned within the next four years," he said.

Backman wrote:

LMFS wrote:Hahaha, that interview is gold:

“The real costs of all the F-35 variants can be found in the service’s budget documents, all of which are available online. The F-35A cost $110.3 million per aircraft in 2020, the F-35B $135.8 million, and the F-35C $117.3 million. These costs differ significantly from the advertised prices. The difference is that all the costs necessary to build each aircraft are spread across multiple budget years. The services budget for advance procurement to purchase components in earlier years, but then claim that the money spent in the actual production year is the total cost which is definitely not the case. This is a deliberate public relations ploy to make the F-35 look better on paper and make it appear as though the program is meeting its cost goals.”

We know this but when you go on other non Russia specific forum, there will be Yanqui fanboys saying that the F-35 is cheaper than the su 57. They say it with a straight face. A poster by the name of SpudmanWP on Key Pub always posted these fictitious F-35 prices. He was never that bad of a poster. But even he drank the Kool Aid. They could at least keep the lier price above a 100 million so we could pretend to believe it but nope. They really believe that the high rate of production gets the cost down that much.

"Hey man Turkey should get F-35 because its cheaper than su 57"

Hole wrote:A few years ago the americans claimed that the Chinese stole all data about the F-35 and now they fear that saome chinese dude could take a look at one of them?

Hole wrote:A few years ago the americans claimed that the Chinese stole all data about the F-35 and now they fear that saome chinese dude could take a look at one of them?

The U.K.’s. RAF Lakenheath became the first European base to receive a U.S. F-35A Lightning II on Dec. 15, six years after plans for the delivery were announced as part of an eventual basing of two squadrons of the fifth-generation aircraft.

A 2015 decision to close RAF Mildenhall and realign its missions led to the plan to base 48 F-35As at Lakenheath, with deliveries to start in 2020. COVID-19 and base infrastructure improvements forced the timeline to slip, but USAFE still got its first F-35 before the end of 2021.

“The Valkyries are leading our F-35 integration across Europe,” said Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, in a statement.

The 495th Fighter Squadron was nicknamed the Valkyries in 2020 for the female figure in Norse mythology who chooses who will live or die in battle.

“We’ve come a long way, and now we’re extending our reach as a coalition force and what we will accomplish together,” Harrigian said.

RAF Lakenheath’s selection was based on existing infrastructure and combined training opportunities with the United Kingdom. The U.K. is critical for training and combat readiness for Air Forces in Europe due to its participation in the F-35 program and excellent airspace, noted USAFE.

The new F-35 squadron will consist of 60 personnel and 27 F-35s, delivered in a phased approach. Lt. Col. Ian D. McLaughlin assumed command of the 495th on Oct. 1. New range infrastructure and training are projected to be in place by 2022, Harrigian previously said.

Speaking to reporters at a media roundtable at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference in September, Harrigian highlighted the number of European partners and allies choosing the F-35.

“We’ve already got some pretty good plans as we start thinking about how we leverage that capability, particularly with many of our partners that already have F-35s in the theater,” he said. “I really think it’ll be a truly important step as we continue to demonstrate the importance that the F-35 has baked into it from an interoperability perspective.”

The F-35 is the high-end fighter of choice for the United Kingdom, Norway, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Israel. Switzerland announced in June that it will purchase the fighter, and non-NATO partner Finland ordered 64 of the jets Dec. 10 to replace its aging F/A-18 fleet.

BAE Systems will upgrade the F-35’s electronic warfare system for the jet’s Block 4 upgrade under a $493 million contract awarded by Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems said Dec. 15. The new system will go into F-35 production starting with Lot 17 in 2024.

“This contract provides funding for the development and maturation of the Block 4 EW hardware baseline” for the F-35, Lisa Aucoin, BAE Systems’ vice president for F-35 solutions, said by email. When complete, the upgrade will bring “discriminating capabilities to outpace emerging and evolving threats,” she added. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the F-35.

The EW upgrade has been described as the centerpiece of the F-35 Block 4 improvements, made possible by new processors installed under the Tech Refresh 3 program.

The contract will provide more powerful core hardware for the AN/ASQ-239 EW system, along with engineering support services and test infrastructure. The upgrade will “improve superior situational awareness and electromagnetic attack and countermeasures capabilities with new sensors and more powerful signal processing,” BAE said in a press release.

The AN/ASQ-239 “collects and processes electromagnetic energy in signal-dense and contested environments,” Aucoin said. “It combines offensive and defensive EW capabilities, including broadband radar warning and radar suppression, targeting support, and multi-spectral countermeasures to provide situational awareness and self-protection.”

The system is designed for continuous capability development, or CCD, which enables “rapid future upgrades,” BAE said, adding that the system has modular architecture for more efficient upgrades “across the global F-35 fleet.” The system also includes the Non-Intrusive Electronic Warfare Test Solution (NIEWTS) fault isolation and diagnostics capability, which “enables precise troubleshooting that further reduces maintenance costs,” BAE said.

The capabilities in the upgraded AN/ASQ-239 “will be leveraged to other platforms to ensure all warfighters have the most advanced EW capability at the ready,” Aucoin said in the news release. It will allow friendly forces to “outpace evolving threats.”

In addition to the EW system, BAE also manufactures the jet’s aft fuselage, “active interceptor control system,” and vehicle management computer at plants in Australia, the U.K., and the U.S. The company is also producing the Eagle Passive Active Warning and Survivability System (EPAWSS), which will protect the F-15C, F-15E, and new F-15EX.

The contract for F-35 Lots 15-17 was expected in late October or early November but has still not been announced.

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 of 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing becomes the first Marine squadron to deploy the F-35C on an aircraft carrier.
The F-35C Lightning II of the U.S. Marine Corps reached yet another milestone, with the type leaving for the first operational deployment aboard an aircraft carrier. The F-35s of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 “Black Knights”, part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, arrived on the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) on January 3, 2022, together with the other squadrons assigned to Carrier Air Wing Nine. The USS Lincoln is leaving San Diego with Carrier Strike Group 3 to head for the Pacific Ocean.

“The Black Knight’s deployment of F-35C Lightning II aboard USS Abraham Lincoln is the newest chapter in the Marine Corps’ long history of naval integration,” said Maj. Gen. Bradford J. Gering, 3rd MAW commanding general. The upcoming deployment represents years of hard work and innovation by the Marines and Sailors of VMFA-314, MAG-11, and 3rd MAW. It also reinforces our commitment to fielding the most lethal and ready Navy-Marine Corps force as we project warfighting capabilities throughout the Indo-Pacific region, or globally wherever our nation calls.”

The Marines consider the capability to deploy operationally the F-35C significant as it was specifically built for aircraft carrier operations, as well as enhancing the battlespace awareness of all aircraft in the Carrier Air Wing, contributing to a flexible, mobile force that expands the US military advantage at sea. This is especially true in a contested maritime region like the Pacific Ocean, where the presence of the 5th gen fighter aircraft might contribute to the regional stability while providing security for the US and allies.

“Our ability to operate the F-35C in the Pacific greatly increases the Marine Corps’ naval expeditionary force capabilities by providing us the capacity to employ the most advanced electronic warfare capabilities on any aircraft today in support of fleet operations,” said Lt. Col. Brendan M. Walsh, VMFA-314 commanding officer. “In addition, having this asset available greatly increases the Marine Corps’ ability to provide security to our allied nations and preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

The 3rd MAW has also demonstrated the F-35’s long-range aerial maritime strike capabilities last summer during Exercise Summer Fury 21. During the exercise, which is the largest Marine aviation exercise on the West Coast, the Wing’s F/A-18C Hornets and F-35s flew from Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar to Washington State, a distance of more than one thousand miles, to deliver long-range precision fires on a simulated enemy naval surface combatant in a distributed, maritime environment.

“The Summer Fury long-range strike is an opportunity for 3rd MAW to execute a maritime strike against an enemy surface combatant while being supported by an aerial-delivered forward arming and refueling point,” said Lt. Col. Duncan A. French, 3rd MAW lead operations planner. “The concepts and tasks inherent in this mission are critical to the success of a fight against a peer adversary.”

The first operational deployment of the F-35C comes as a culminating effort as VMFA-314 completed its workups last year with Carrier Air Wing Nine on board the USS Abraham Lincoln. The last step off the workups saw VMFA-314 completing their final integrated training cycle along other elements of Carrier Strike Group Three in December as the Marine Corps continues to develop its 5th Generation strike fighter capabilities.

The development of the USMC’s is 5th Generation strike fighter capabilities to meet the demands of the rapidly evolving future operating environment is still ongoing, as VMFA-314 became the first squadron in the Marine Corps to declare the Full Operational Capability (FOC) for the F-35C Lightning II in July 2021. VMFA-314 was the first Marine Corps squadron to transition to the F-35C variant of the Joint Strike Fighter after retiring its legacy F/A-18A/C aircraft and receiving its first F-35C in January 2020 from Naval Air Station Lemoore and declared the Initial Operational Capability (IOC) by the end of the year.

The Abraham Lincoln Combat Strike Group is led by the command staff of CSG 3 and consists of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, Carrier Air Wing 9, the guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53) and the guided-missile destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 21 (DESRON 21) – USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), USS Gridley (DDG 101), USS Sampson (DDG 102) and USS Spruance (DDG 111). This is also the first time in the U.S. Navy history that a woman, Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt, has been assigned the command of an aircraft carrier and will lead it on an operational deployment.

The Carrier Air Wing Nine includes eight squadrons: Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314 “Black Knights”, flying F-35Cs; Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 14 “Tophatters” and Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 151 “Vigilantes”, flying F/A-18E Super Hornets; Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41 “Black Aces”, flying F/A-18F Super Hornets; Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 133 “Wizards”, flying EA-18G Growlers; Airborne Command & Control Squadron (VAW) 117 “Wallbangers”, flying E-2D Hawkeyes; Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 14 “Chargers”, flying MH-60S Knight Hawks Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 71 “Raptors”, flying MH-60R Sea Hawks.

US Navy wants to get crashed stealth fighter back -- before China can

Hole wrote:It can´t even swim.

owais.usmani wrote:

https://twitter.com/AlexLuck9/status/1486618315199967234

Hole wrote:But that was shitty russian tech while this time it was an accident that can occur from time to time.