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JSF Could See Major Changes In Coming Months, Officials Say
By Marc Selinger
February 17, 2004
ORLANDO, Fla. – The coming months could reveal significant changes for the Defense Department’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, according to government and industry officials.
During the F-35’s first critical design review in April, prime contractor Lockheed Martin expects to learn more about how DOD wants to resolve the aircraft’s weight problems, company officials said Feb. 12 at the Air Force Association’s (AFA) 20th annual air warfare symposium here. Orville Prins, vice president of business development at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., said the company has identified “more than 100 ideas” for slimming JSF.
“We know there will be an impact [from the weight issue], and we’re working through that,” Prins told reporters.
The unwanted pounds already have led DOD to delay the purchase of a small fraction of the 2,443 aircraft it plans to acquire for the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy. About 70 JSFs that were slated for procurement by fiscal 2009 will now be bought in FY ’10 or beyond. The delay is intended to ensure the program has enough time to resolve the aircraft’s weight problems.
William McHenry, Lockheed Martin’s vice president of business development for the F-35, said that 1,000 to 2,000 pounds is the “magnitude of the problem.”
Pentagon officials, including Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (DAILY, Jan. 15), have said that such weight challenges are common for aircraft under development.
Air Force Secretary James Roche and Gen. John Jumper, Air Force chief of staff, added even more dynamic to the JSF program by confirming at the AFA symposium that the Air Force wants to buy the Marine Corps’ short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) JSF to complement the Air Force’s own conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) version (DAILY, Feb. 13). There had been indications for more than a month that the Air Force had a growing interest in the STOVL variant (DAILY, Jan. 6).
AF eyes STOVL
Roche and Jumper said recent military operations have underscored the value of the STOVL JSF, which would aid the Air Force’s close-air-support mission by allowing it to use runways that are not in great condition but that are located near U.S. ground forces.
“It would give us access to many more runways that we find” in today’s operations, Jumper said.
Roche noted that the Air Force’s STOVL idea still needs to go through the regular budget and planning process.
Gen. Hal Hornburg, commander of Air Combat Command, has been tasked with studying the STOVL issue, including the right mix of CTOL and STOVL variants. The Air Force currently is slated to buy 1,763 CTOLs.
Roche also revealed the Air Force plans to look at blending active and reserve forces to gain efficiencies, a move that could change the number of JSFs the Air Force needs to buy.
Roche said the Air Force intends to upgrade some of its old but rugged A-10 Thunderbolt II close-air-support aircraft, which could serve as a “bridge” to the STOVL JSF. A still-to-be-determined number of A-10s will undergo a sensor system upgrade, re-engining and service life extension.
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