$34B = Biggest Procurement In History As Lockheed, DoD Handshake Deal for 478 F-35s:

The deal for hundreds of new F-35s will drive the cost per airplane below $80 million for the first time.

-WASHINGTON: Pentagon acquisition czar Ellen Lord’s statement says it: “This is a historic milestone for the F-35 Enterprise, and marks the largest procurement in the history of the Department. The $34B agreement for F-35 Low Rate Initial Production Lots 12-14 will see the delivery of 478 F-35 aircraft, 157 for Lot 12, in support of our U.S. Military services, our Partner Nations, and our Foreign Military Sales customers.”

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the biggest conventional weapons program in history has just set the record for a single deal in, well, probably, any country at any time. For perspective, the entire Australian defense budget for 2019 came in at about $27.52 billion US.

Here are some of the more important details from today’s announcement. Top of the list is the fact that the flyaway price of the F-35A will drop below $80 million one year earlier than planned in Low Rate of Initial Production (LRIP) Lot 13. Lord said in the statement that the Pentagon will reap an estimated 8.8 percent in savings from Lot 11 to Lot 12 for F-35A’s, and an average of 15 percent reduction “across all variants from Lot 11 to Lot 14.”
https://breakingdefense.com/2019/06/34b-biggest-procurement-in-history-as-lockheed-dod-handshake-deal-for-478-f-35s/

Under $80 million for the most advanced fighter to ever take the sky… Goodbye rafale, gripen and typhoon market.

Who is “they?” From reports the USAF didn’t want this F-15x until a former Boeing executive became acting secdef .

So out of 400+ (or less not sure) F-35’s flying around the world this one particular F-35 had issues but the
Japanese air force decided to keep flying it..? Very smart. :stupid:

There’s no answer that would satisfy the likes of you when it comes to the F-35.

Hmm. Post wasn’t supposed to look like that.

I wouldn’t say so, upgrades could be more expensive due to the possible difficulty of integrating systems not specifically designed for it but if as you say it is redesigned to the point of being essentially a new airframe, I don’t see why not.

You wouldn’t say so..? If it were possible it would be done on the F-15X or that silly version Boeing rolled out, F-15 Silent Eagle,
that too didn’t have EODAS with helmet integration capability.

You pretty much have to design a fighter from the ground up in order to carry these systems and installing such systems
on 4th gen fighters is next to impossible do to cost and pretty much compromising the fighters performance by adding
weight and adding drag on the 4th gen fighter.

I was thinking about systems, not VLO features and I am not sure I agree that it would be impossible to upgrade a 4/4.5 gen A-C to this level.

I too was talking about systems. The cost and labor to somehow install/integrate DAS/EOTS and AN/ASQ-239 ew on 4th gen fighters is not worth it.

We’re talking about taking the plane apart not to mention the weight it will add to the aircraft.

F-35 at Red Flag 19-1 is doing its thing.

Hill Airmen, F-35 a lethal combo at Red Flag

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. – Today, Airmen from the 388th Fighter Wing’s 4th Fighter Squadron wrapped up flying operations with the F-35A Lightning II in an “exponentially more challenging” Red Flag.
The 4th FS integrated the F-35A into a large, capable “Blue Force” in diverse missions against an equally capable “Red Force.” Nearly 3,000 personnel from 39 separate units participated in the exercise, including the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force.
The Red Force was made up of hybrid threats, combinations of the “most advanced weapons systems out there,” meant to replicate “near-peer” enemies in a large scale conflict. The shift closely aligns with the National Defense Strategy.
“The first time I came to Red Flag in 2004, our tactics were the same as they had been since the early 1980s. Now, the threat and complexity are at a whole different level,” said Col. Joshua Wood, 388th Operations Group commander. “It’s no longer assumed that we will gain and maintain air superiority. That’s a big shift.”
Red Flag aggressors encompass the whole spectrum of an adversary force – advanced integrated air-defense systems, an adversary air force, cyber-warfare and information operations. Because of these diverse capabilities, many Red Flag missions are flown in “contested or denied” environments with active electronic attack, communications jamming, and GPS denial.
“Those situations highlight the fifth-generation capabilities of the F-35. We’re still able to operate and be successful. In a lot of cases we have a large role as an integrated quarterback,” said Lt. Col. Yosef Morris, 4th Fighter Squadron commander. “Our ability to continue to fuse and pass information to the entire package makes every aircraft more survivable.”
During the first week of Red Flag, the F-35 pilots flew in a larger force of Blue Air in a counter-air mission. More than 60 aggressor aircraft were flying against them, blinding many of the fourth-generation aircraft with “robust” electronic attack capabilities.
“I’ve never seen anything like it before.” Wood said. “This is not a mission you want a young pilot flying in. My wingman was a brand new F-35A pilot, seven or eight flights out of training. He gets on the radio and tells an experienced, 3,000-hour pilot in a very capable fourth-generation aircraft. ‘Hey bud, you need to turn around. You’re about to die. There’s a threat off your nose.’”
The young pilot then “killed” the enemy aircraft and had three more kills in the hour-long mission.
“Even in this extremely challenging environment, the F-35 didn’t have many difficulties doing its job,” Wood said. ‘That’s a testament to the pilot’s training and the capabilities of the jet.”
One of the most valuable things about this exercise for the 4th Fighter Squadron is the experience it provided younger pilots flying combat missions as part of an integrated force. Thirteen pilots in the squadron have never flown the F-35 in Red Flag, and four of them just graduated pilot training.
“They say it’s the most realistic thing to combat,” said 1st Lt. Landon Moores, a new F-35A pilot. “It’s been pretty intense.”
Red Flag is not a “rolling campaign.” It is made up of different scenarios that increase in difficulty as the weeks go on. This allows the integrated force to learn how best to capitalize on the strengths and protect the weaknesses of each platform in very specific mission sets.
“With stealth, the F-35 can get closer to threats than many other aircraft can. Combined with the performance of the fused sensors on the F-35, we can significantly contribute to the majority of the missions,” Morris said.
The missions aren’t just 90-minute flights. They require 12-hours of intense planning the day prior, a two hour pre-brief, and then several hours of debriefing after the mission – dissecting the outcome and looking for ways to improve.
“It’s not like we just come back and high-five if we’re successful,” Morris said. “Could we have done better? Did we have all the resources we needed? Often the brief and debrief is the most valuable part of Red Flag, especially for younger pilots.”
The squadron brought 12 aircraft and more than 200 Airmen to the three-week exercise – pilots, maintainers, intelligence officers, weapons crews, and support personnel, including reservists from the 419th Fighter Wing. Maintainers didn’t lose a single sortie to a maintenance ground-abort and had spare aircraft available for every mission.
“As this aircraft matures, we continue to see it be a significant force-multiplier in a threat-dense environment,” Morris said. “Red Flag was a success for us and has made our younger pilots more lethal and more confident.”

http://www.388fw.acc.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1759536/hill-airmen-f-35-a-lethal-combo-at-red-flag/fbclid/IwAR2w309h5-vSi-tfjmZt7mvrlwrYkwMMti4CDwj39J8d_xPXiiupS45Js9g/