What is up with the F-35? Part II

[JRT]

...Canada finalizes deal for Lockheed's F-35 fighter jets in C$19 bln project...

Just to clarify Reuters' reporting, those 88 aircraft will be the F-35A (not sure if Canada's aircraft will be varying much from the US Air Force F35A).

[jlvfr]

Are they going to be cheaper than the original project?

[Albany Rifles]

Interesting but not totally surprising development.

Canada finalizes deal for Lockheed's F-35 fighter jets in C$19 bln project | Reuters

Canada finalizes deal for Lockheed's F-35 fighter jets in C$19 bln project

U.S. Air Force Captain Andrew "Dojo" Olson, F-35 Demo Team pilot and commander performs aerial maneuvers during the Aero Gatineau-Ottawa Airshow in Quebec, Canada, September 7, 2019. U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Alexander Cook/Handout via REUTERS.


OTTAWA, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Canada has finalized a deal to buy 88 F-35 fighter jets from U.S. defense company Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) in a C$19 billion ($14.2 billion) project to replace its aging fleet of fighter aircraft, the Canadian government said on Monday.

Ottawa has been trying for more than a decade to replace its fleet of Boeing Co (BA.N) CF-18 fighters, some of which are more than 40 years old. The purchase of F-35 stealth fighters would mark the largest investment in the Canadian Air Force in more than 30 years.

Canada expects the first F-35s to be delivered in 2026 and the fleet's full operational capability is anticipated between 2032 and 2034, Defense Minister Anita Anand told a news conference.


The F-35 fighter deal announcement coincides with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's trip to Mexico on Monday for the North American leaders' summit where he will meet U.S. President Joe Biden.

The deal "will help us to meet our NORAD and NATO commitments and it will also deliver concrete economic benefits to our country," Anand said.

The C$19 billion project includes cost of infrastructure set-up, weapons and other related expenses in addition to the price of planes.

Canada is part of a consortium that helped develop Lockheed Martin's F-35 and Ottawa will pay the same amount for the aircraft as the other participants, including the United States.

($1 = 1.3404 Canadian dollars)

[Joćo]

Normally you can hear a jet from a distance and some of the US Jets are very loud. But this plane I only knew was there when it was directly above at low level Frightened the life out of me. I nearly hit the floor. I don't know if the pilot had lined up on me while I was out in the open but. But he must have a good laugh at my expense.

[Gun Grape]

Pentagon suspends F-35 deliveries over Chinese alloy in magnet

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2022...loy-in-magnet/

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has temporarily halted deliveries of F-35 fighters following the discovery that the raw materials used for a magnet in the plane were produced in China.

In a release Wednesday, Lockheed Martin said a magnet in the F-35′s Honeywell-made turbomachine — an engine component that provides power to its engine-mounted starter/generator — was recently discovered to have been made with cobalt and samarium alloy that came from China.

Lockheed said the alloy for this part is magnetized in the United States.

Company spokeswoman Laura Siebert said magnets on F-35s already delivered will not be replaced with magnets made from non-Chinese materials because the Pentagon has decided the magnets are safe for flight and do not put sensitive program information at risk.

Russell Goemaere, a spokesman for the F-35 JPO, confirmed the magnet doesn’t transmit information or endanger the plane, and said flight operations for F-35s already delivered and in service will continue unchanged.

But due to a concern about compliance with the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, or DFARS, the F-35 Joint Program Office has ordered the Defense Contract Management Agency to stop accepting F-35s for now.

Lockheed Martin said that, going forward, turbomachine production will use magnets made from another alloy using materials from the U.S.

Bloomberg first reported the news about the delivery halt.

In a statement to Defense News, Honeywell said it “remains committed to supplying high-quality products that meet or exceed all customer contract requirements.”

“We are committed to working closely with DoD [the Department of Defense] and Lockheed Martin to ensure that we continue to achieve those commitments on products Honeywell supplies for use on the F-35,” the company added.

Goemaere said in an email to Defense News that the Defense Contract Management Agency notified the office about the possible regulatory noncompliance of the magnet alloy on Aug. 19, and the noncompliance was formally confirmed Sept. 2.

An investigation is now underway to understand how the Chinese materials slipped through the process and to fix the problem. Goemaere said the contractors involved have found a new source for this alloy to be used for future turbomachines.

Lockheed said that Honeywell told it about the Chinese-sourced alloy in late August. That disclosure came after Honeywell learned from one of its suppliers that another supplier had used alloy sourced from China for its magnets.

“We are working with our partners and the DoD to ensure contractual compliance within the supply chain,” Lockheed said. “The magnet has no visibility or access to any sensitive program information. The F-35 remains safe for flight, and we are working with the DoD to resolve the issue as quickly as possible to resume deliveries.”

It is unclear how long the halt in deliveries will last, Lockheed said, but added that the company remains on track to deliver 148-153 of the fighters in 2022. So far, 88 F-35s were delivered this year.

Fighters that are already finished but not delivered will stay with Lockheed until deliveries are cleared again.

Lockheed said in its release it is working with the Pentagon to solve the problem, and is providing information to the JPO that might be needed for a possible national security waiver allowing the delivery of fighters with the Chinese alloy.

If the government decides a national security waiver is needed, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, William LaPlante, will have to make a written determination that it is in the national security interests of the United States to accept the F-35s with the Chinese materials.

The F-35 is made of 300,000 parts from more than 1,700 suppliers, Lockheed said. The company also said all supplier parts are inspected at each stage of production.

[tbm3fan]

On Wednesday, the United States supported the potential sale of U.S. F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, a day after Ankara lifted a veto of NATO membership for Finland and Sweden, saying that strong Turkish defence capabilities would reinforce NATO's defences.
________

That is quite the tap dance playing out in dealing with two NATO, but diametrically opposed, "allies".

[TopHatter]

Greece proceeds with purchase of 20 Lockheed F-35 fighter jets -PM

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece has sent an official request to the United States for the purchase of 20 Lockheed Martin-made F-35 fighter jets, the country's prime minister said on Thursday.

NATO member Greece spends more than 2% of its gross domestic product on defence spending. It has beefed up its military purchases in recent years as tensions with its neighbour, historic rival and NATO ally Turkey, have resurfaced.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Greece is also examining the purchase of a second group of the jets.

"Our intention is to acquire an F-35 squadron with a possible option for a second one. Sending a Letter of Request (LoR) which has happened in the past few days is part of this process," Mitsotakis told reporters after a NATO summit.

Sending a request is the first step in a multi-stage process, Mitsotakis said, adding that the government expected deliveries of the jets would begin in 2027-2028.

"It is a long process and I am saying this because it means we have the fiscal space allowing us to make such a purchase," the conservative premier, who faces elections in 2023, said.

Greece and Turkey have been at odds for decades over a series of issues ranging from overflights in the Aegean and the extent of their continental shelves and maritime boundaries to energy resources and ethnically-split Cyprus.

Mitsotakis first referred to the purchase of F-35 jets during a visit in May to the United States.

Athens ordered 24 Dassault-made Rafale jets last year for 2.5 billion euros ($2.60 billion) and three navy frigates with an option for a fourth one from France for about 3 billion euros.

According to state ERT TV, the defence ministry also wants to proceed with the upgrade of 38 F-16 fighter jets.

On Wednesday, the United States supported the potential sale of U.S. F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, a day after Ankara lifted a veto of NATO membership for Finland and Sweden, saying that strong Turkish defence capabilities would reinforce NATO's defences.
________

[jlvfr]

Next stop, an AEW Osprey...

[Gun Grape]

Looking at the America subclass. They are designed to carry 16 F-35s and a full compliment of 16 MV-22s.

That leaves the Ch-53s and the AH-1s.

53s easily shift to the LHDs and frankly the AH-1s are pretty much useless except to escort the 53s.

Not fast enough to keep up with the Ospreys and with long range strike being the in thing, to short ranged to have much ToS when they get to the objective.

Need a Osprey type gunship

[Gun Grape]

I suppose they had to try, if only to show the Air Force they could do it :). But I can't think of many realistic situations where the 'Lightening Carrier' concept would be of practice use to the Marines. I only say this because it seems to me that, given the nature of their mission putting 20 F-35s on an LPH sort of cancels out the reason they were built in the first place. 20 jet fighters go on? Most of its helicopters have to go come off! Which to me at least seems to be a big chunk of airlift capacity for a MAGFT to lose.

Shift the MV-22s to the San Antonio class ship. They can carry 5.
Harpers Ferry class could do 5 CH-46s. don't know about Ospreys

[Gun Grape]

USS Nassau did it back during Desert Storm.

And if you want to go back further Nassau did it in 1981 on a Med float with 2 Harrier squadrons.

nihil sub sole novum

[TopHatter]

I suppose they had to try, if only to show the Air Force they could do it :). But I can't think of many realistic situations where the 'Lightening Carrier' concept would be of practice use to the Marines. I only say this because it seems to me that, given the nature of their mission putting 20 F-35s on an LPH sort of cancels out the reason they were built in the first place. 20 jet fighters go on? Most of its helicopters have to go come off! Which to me at least seems to be a big chunk of airlift capacity for a MAGFT to lose.

It's been done before, during the 2nd Iraq War. Except of course they were Harrier Carriers then.

Also America and Tripoli were built as aviation-centric ships, no well deck and smaller medical facilities = larger hanger and magazine spaces.

Everything you wanted to know and more about the concept can be found here

USS Bataan being used in the "Harrier Carrier" role for Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.

[Monash]

I suppose they had to try, if only to show the Air Force they could do it :). But I can't think of many realistic situations where the 'Lightening Carrier' concept would be of practice use to the Marines. I only say this because it seems to me that, given the nature of their mission putting 20 F-35s on an LPH sort of cancels out the reason they were built in the first place. 20 jet fighters go on? Most of its helicopters have to go come off! Which to me at least seems to be a big chunk of airlift capacity for a MAGFT to lose.

[TopHatter]

The Lightning Carrier concept is getting one hell of a workout...20 F-35B's deployed on USS Tripoli

Aboard The Marine's First F-35B-Packed 'Lightning Carrier'

[Albany Rifles]

Still looks like the F-35 is under-performing in terms of readiness & maintenance costs compared to other platforms. I assume there is still some prospect of improvement over the next few years? Or is that a forlorn hope?

Anither issue...the sources of supply for parts are the same for spares in operational squadrons. That means the PM & operational commanders are fighting over the same parts.