I had assumed that he was talking about a Block 4 timeframe since there are not that many SU-35s flying anytime soon anyways.

On the RCS issue, just like all the other KPPs, the RCS spec is what it needs to be “after” a lifetime of use.

lol, even without access to classified info and not having a clue on many fronts, the F-35 still comes out on top :applause:

I even wonder about the possibility of converting existing F-35s into UCAVs in the 2030’s. Replace the cockpit with a HEL or more fuel. That would give massive operational saving and increased service life.

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Lucy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You got some splaining to do :applause:

Here is the source and it was done as a test (which failed).

http://atomictoasters.com/2012/11/startup-fire-suppression-air-force-syle/

The Air Force doesn’t screw around. OK, well sure most of the time it’s all Top Gun moments and officers screaming “Maverick!”, but they don’t like it when their stuff catches fire. To make sure that doesn’t happen, fires in hangars are quickly extinguished with foam dispensed from vents in the ceiling. Sometimes, these systems have to be tested, and this is what it looks like: a nightclub party. Cleanup looks like it’s a party, too. Check out these good folks in Minnesota, revealing a fleet of Sikorsky UH-60 “Blackhawk” helicopters after a test of the fire suppression system.

Artificial reef?

It is not as bad as I thought but the F-35Bs still won’t be useable for a2a for the next 3 years.

2AIM-120C7 missiles is not good enough for you? Remember that is what most F-16s are caring around and is much better than what the Harrier has now.

The block 4 upgrades will include several hardware changes so they might cost quite a lot too.

$4 mil is nothing and unless something unexpected comes up, TR2 (which is part of 3i) includes all anticipated hardware for Block4 upgrades.

Probably the first block 2Bs won’t receive the block 3F until 2019.

All but 1 one of LRIP 2-8 Bs are planed to be Block 3F but the end of 2018. All Post-LRIP8 are produced at Block 3i until 3F is released

This is the flow:
2017/2019 – 32 Bs become 3i starting in Q1 2017 (Quarterly plan = 2-4-7-7-3-3-3-2-1)
2018 – 50 (32 from above + 18 produced at 3i) Bs becomes 3F starting in Q2 2018 (Quarterly plan = 16-16-17-0-1)
2019 – The last B Block 3F upgrade is in Q2 2019

(Note: There are 6 Bs that were also planned for conversion to 3F in FY16/17 as part of the SDD & OTE fleets)

http://www.dtic.mil/procurement/Y2016/Navy/P40_0592_BSA-1_BA-5_APP-1506N_PB_2016.pdf

This doc also has the complete Concurrency list.

I’d have to do some checking but from my understanding is that the move from 3I to 3F is simply a function of installing the software, so its not as much about how fast they go from 2b to 3F but how fast they go from 2b to 3i. From what I remember, the new F-35B deliveries are with 3I so those aircraft would be moving much faster to 3F.

Yes, 3F is mostly software. Look at the above PDF and you will see that it costs less that 1 mil per airframe and that’s mostly labor.

I know of no fighter in recent years that has entered service with so many restrictions and without any public acknowledgment of its limitations. (The French, by contrast, were entirely open about the limited role of the Rafale F1.)

The F-35 is the most open and scrutinized fighter program ever, period. The limitations of Block 2B were known and accepted by the USMC from the very onset of the program.

Let me stand corrected. The limitations have been acknowledged in one program document that about 0.00000000001 per cent of the public knows about, released several years ago.

Is it the fault of LM, the JPO, the USMC, etc that most people are apathetic?

Except for the A-10?

Every fighter… including the A-10.