F-35: $1 Trillion Fighter, the Air Force Ferrari, some good news
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DOD Laser-Focused on Driving Down Costs of F-35, General Says
MAY 14, 2021 | BY DAVID VERGUN, DOD NEWS
There are about 630 F-35 Lightning IIs in the field today in nine nations, including the U.S., the program executive officer for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office said. Five of those nations have deployed the F-35 in combat.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Eric T. Fick spoke yesterday at the McAleese FY2022 Defense Programs conference.
“The F-35 delivers truly game-changing capabilities today. With its combination of stealth, sensor fusion and interoperability, the F-35 is truly the quarterback of the joint force,” he said.
The U.S. and its allies and partners who use the F-35 don’t have unlimited funds, so Fick said that the services are “laser-focused” on driving down costs, not just in development and production, but in sustainment, where 80% of the money is spent.
To save on cost, the technicians are increasing the amount of automated testing on the plane’s software so that faulty software isn’t pushed into the field, or even into the flight test, he said.
Using the joint simulation environment for initial operational test and evaluation, is also being employed to reduce the cost to develop and deliver software ahead of open-air flight tests, he said.
In sustainment for the U.S. Air Force, the cost per flight hour for the F-35 went down from $37,000 to $33,300 in the course of just one year from 2019 to 2020, he said, mentioning that’s a lot of progress.
The services are also looking to increase the use of advanced simulators to reduce the cost of actually flying.
Driving down the costs of spare parts, maintenance and repair is the next big focus, he said.
For years the money hog F-35 fighter has been controversial in its performance. Recent speculation that it may be history is not right on says AF Chief Gen. Brown
“Countering claims that the US Air Force could buy a clean-sheet design fighter to replace the F-16 means the F-35 project has failed; US Air Force Chief of Staff General Charles Q. Brown, Jr on Thursday said the F-35 was the ‘cornerstone’ of the US tactical air capability. “You don’t drive your Ferrari to work every day, you only drive it on Sundays. This is our ‘high end’ [fighter], we want to make sure we don’t use it all for the low-end fight” Air Force Technology reported.
This week, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing dedicated its inaugural F-35 simulator building aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, January 21. This marks the next step in streamlining the training process of the fifth-generation joint strike fighter, which has been recognized as one of the most advanced aircraft in military history.
In addition to providing a much more efficient means of producing highly trained pilots to operate the fifth-generation stealth fighter, this simulator will allow 3rd MAW aviators to train, rehearse, and refine their integrated abilities alongside the Navy and other Marine Corps allies operating across the globe.
Airforce Magazine reported similar predictions, while stating that a study will decide whether the program slows down.
The TacAir study Planned “will simply look at what systems will be needed to complement it, he said. The age of most of the fighter force—averaging 29 years—compels USAF to “look ahead … 10, 15 years in the future,” according to General Brown. The study will develop “where we think we need to go, and how we get from where we are today to … the future.
Maj. Nicholas “JAKAL” Rallo, an instructor pilot with the 944th Fighter Wing, became the first Luke Air Force Base F-35 Lightning II pilot to attain 1,000 F-35 flying hours here, February 22, 2021.
Maj. Rallo is an Active Guard Reserve member with the 944th Operations Group Detachment 2 and is integrated with the 63rd Fighter Squadron through the Total Force Enterprise that keeps Luke’s mission going.
“I am honored to be a part of Det 2 and to work with our partners in the 63rd Fighter Squadron,” said Rallo. “I am lucky to have such a great team to work with and to have been one of the first pilots at Luke to transition to the F-35.”
After 10 years as a fighter pilot flying the F-16C and a brief time flying the MC-12W, Rallo got the opportunity to transition to the F-35 in 2015.
Rallo’s achievement also makes him only the second operational F-35 pilot in the Air Force Reserve and the fourth in the entire Air Force to reach 1,000 hours in this aircraft.
“I am humbled to be in the first group of F-35 pilots to achieve this milestone,” said Rallo. “I love being a member of the Air Force Reserve and to be able to call Arizona my home.”
His 16 years of active duty and Reserve experience has given him valuable knowledge that he leverages to train incoming fighter pilots.
“I love the job I do training the Air Force’s best fighter pilots,” Rallo shared. “Our Total Force Integration makes us unstoppable and I believe that achieving big goals is just a matter of time, persistence, focus and hard work.”
29 April 2019
F-35 JOINT STRIKE FIGHTER: GOA
Action Needed to Improve Reliability and Prepare for Modernization Efforts.
DOD plans to spend over $270 billion to buy more than 2,000 F-35 aircraft over the next 26 years.
In this year’s review, among other things, we found the F-35 program:
Made slow, consistent progress on reliability and maintainability. But, it has not met 4 of 8 targets, which suggests the aircraft will be less reliable and more costly to maintain.
Will start a modernization effort—now estimated at $10.5 billion—without a complete business case and while still developing key technologies. This increases the risk of cost increases and delays.
We made 5 recommendations, including that the program clarify and improve its reliability plans.
F-35 Aircraft
25 April 2019
F-35 AIRCRAFT SUSTAINMENT: GOA
DOD Needs to Address Substantial Supply Chain Challenges
DOD needs to address supply chain issues with the F-35 advanced fighter jet, the country’s most expensive weapons system with projected operating costs of more than $1 trillion.
The U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy share a pool of spare parts with partners around the world. But shortages, repair backlogs, and mismatched parts are keeping F-35s on the ground. For example, F-35 aircraft were unable to fly nearly 30% of the time from May through November 2018 because they didn’t have the parts they needed.
While DOD has taken steps to address these challenges and others, we’ve made 8 recommendations that address these specific issues.
F-35 Lightning II aircraft at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida
F-35 JOINT STRIKE FIGHTER:
Development Is Nearly Complete, but Deficiencies Found in Testing Need to Be Resolved [Reissued with Revisions Jun. 13, 2018] GOA
Since the beginning, the F-35s Have had a sorted history with several groundings.
Feb 2013
F-35s grounded as precaution after crack found in engine blade
By Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service / Published February 22, 2013
Officials shipped the engine and its associated hardware to Pratt & Whitney’s engine facility in Middletown, Conn., to conduct more thorough evaluation and root cause analysis.
A Department of Defense spokesman announced the temporary grounding of the F-35 fleet based upon a recent runway incident.
Navy Rear Admiral John Kirby, Pentagon press secretary, stated that the technical air worthiness authorities of the Department of the Air Force and Department of the Navy issued a directive to ground the F-35 fleet based on initial findings from the runway fire incident that occurred at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, on Monday, June 23.
23 Sept 2016. A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II assigned to the 56th Fighter Wing experienced a ground emergency at about 12:20 p.m. EDT Sept. 23 at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.
The aircraft was preparing to conduct a training mission at Mountain Home AFB at the time of the incident. However, the pilot had to egress the aircraft during engine start due to a fire from the aft section of the aircraft. The fire was extinguished quickly. As a precautionary measure, four 61st Aircraft Maintenance Unit airmen, three airmen from the 366th Maintenance Group and the 61st Fighter Squadron pilot were transported to the base medical center for evaluation and have since been released.
Seven Luke F-35s are at Mountain Home Sept. 10-24 utilizing the base’s range for surface-to-air training.
23 Aug 2018. An F-35A Lightning II, assigned to the 58th Fighter Squadron, experienced a ground mishap at on the flightline here August 22.
The F-35A experienced an in-flight emergency and returned to base. The aircraft landed safely and parked when the front nose gear collapsed. There was one person on board. Fire crews responded immediately and the pilot suffered no injuries as a result of the incident.