There were three types of STOs (automatic, manual, and combo) and there is no way of knowing which this is.

Here is a nice vid showing a lot of STOs and VLs from the WASP. Notice that most of the STOs happen well short of the edge (sometimes more than a plane-length).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki86x1WKPmE

Notice too that in the above pic that ALL flight surfaces are generating lift. This is different from conventional takeoffs where the horizontal stab would in the up position in order to push the tail down to facilitate the nose coming up.

Nice diversion from the subject at hand :rolleyes:

As usual you do not address the issue of the DOT&E’s fear-mongering (or more precisely the fear-mongering of whomever “leaked” the memo). The original story and the associated memo make it look like the JPO and USAF was “pushing” for training to begin and safety-be-damned.

However, the opposite was true. There were many, high-level meetings (of which the DOT&E attended) where concerns were raised and the training plan was put into place.

When you look at the USAF & JPO’s response to the memo, it becomes quite clear that what the DOT&E was trying to do was equivalent to yelling “fire” in a crowded theater. He wanted the press to get all up in alarm before they realize that there really are no real problems with the training plan. By reading the memo you can see for yourself that the “safety of flight” (what few there actually were) issues were being taken very seriously and the pilot’s lives were being protected.

The plan has ALWAYS been to start training with early (non blk3) LRIP jets and to upgrade them as the program progresses. Here are few reasons whey the F-35 program will not suffer the kind of early obsolescence & inability to upgrade that the F-22 suffered.

1. The F-35 was designed from the outset with upgrades in mind. It’s open architecture based systems and the F-35’s surplus capacity (in datalink bandwidth, ICP rack space, internal space for jammers, etc) will ensure that future (up to blk3) requirements to not require excessive costs to complete.

2. There has already been money set aside in previous budget years to upgrade early LRIP jets to Blk3 standard. These upgrades will plug into existing production schedules and contracts to maximize economies of scale in parts contracts.

3. The F-35 was designed to have all it’s hardware in place by Blk1. The radar, EOTS, EODAS, ESM, HMD, etc are all in place already and do not have to be added in a later Blk.

4. The F-35’s weapons system is based around UAI which will allow latter integration of weapons and pods without expensive hardware & software blk upgrades.

5. The F-35 already has a Post-SDD plan that is working on new systems. More importantly, it is funded.

The first LRIP jets were NEVER supposed to be fully operational. Here is the schedule as put forth from when the F-35 contracts were signed (2001). Things to notice:

1. The first 177 airframes (LRIPs1-4) also contained “Test Assets”. I am not sure if these were the SDD aircraft we have today or not.
2. The 1st LRIP was Blk1, 2nd/3rd LRIPs are Blk2, and 4th LRIP is Blk3.
3. It is not until the 5th LRIP (the 2nd LRIP to produce Blk3 aircraft) that Operational jets are being produced.
4. As a cost savings measure the LRIPs were severely cut back in scope (177 then vs ~63 today).

The USAF and the JPO have already responded by basically saying that the concerns are already being and will be addressed.

They also mention that the DOT&E was in the meetings (3 star level) in which these concerns were originally voiced and plans to mitigate them were put in place.

One of the issues I have with the DOT&E is where he keeps saying “unmonitored” when it comes to the training flights. The F-35 is the most monitored production fighter to ever come along. Besides its Health Management System, there are other systems on board that check the status of the aircraft.

The only B1-R example I have seen is the History.com video and it had the AMRAAMs external on four quad launchers and two triple launchers (for a total of 22).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFsYcK5lWrQ

The likely reason they did not opt for internal AMRRAMs is that a rotary launcher is too hard to ripple fire AAMs from.

I did say IF 😉

As far as late stage bidding, the FRP bids have note even started yet. India, with it’s low cost of labor, would give it a cost edge in future bidding.

IF the Partners agree and IF India wants to, then they can buy their way into the JSF program and have full access to TOT and the bidding process.