SpudmanWPDear God.. pls stop.
SpudmanWPSAM radars, especially the long-range ones, do not have the resolution to detect the difference between stores on a wing.
SpudmanWPAir Force Completes Round of Cold-weather Tests on 3 Versions of F-35s at Eielson
F-35 finish’s up another round of testing up north.
The Air Force has completed another round of cold-weather testing on the F-35A that’s been undergoing a series of tests at Eielson Air Force Base soon after it arrived in October. The testing on three versions of the F-35 was part of preparations for basing two squadrons of the warplane at Eielson beginning in 2020.
…
“Our objective essentially was to take the F-35 up to cold environment – which, that definitely qualified as being a cold environment, probably colder than I’ve ever seen. And we were able to collect as much data as possible,” says Col. Michael Starr, who commands the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center’s 1st Detachment out of Edwards Air Force Base.
Starr said in an interview Tuesday the testing that began in mid-January and wrapped last week mainly involved checking out how the aircraft handled the cold during routine functions.
“The main goal, main objective of the test was to see how the aircraft performed – not just start, taxiing and takeoff,” he said, “but also, once we got to the range, how it’s going to perform in certain mission sets.”
Those mission sets included carrying out simulated combat scenarios. Starr says testing personnel also gained important knowledge by just pulling maintenance on the advanced fighter.
“It (testing) also included a heavy workload by maintenance,” he said. “A lot of folks were out there in the cold weather evaluating what it was like to do things on the aircraft required for normal operation.”
More at the jump
SpudmanWPNews from Belgium
Belgium: Government not obliged to choose between F-35 and Eurofighter to succeed F-16
The Belgian government will, on Wednesday, know “best and final offers” from the suppliers for the American F-35 and the European Eurofighter.
The government must choose the successor to the antiquated Belgian F-16s. The selection panel will not be obliged to simply choose between the two offers. The point was stressed by the MR deputy, Richard Miller, on Bel RTL today.Mr Miller said, “If either of the two do not meet the criteria for the best value for money, we could still consider other offers such as the Rafale (by the French aircraft manufacturer Dassault), or other aircraft manufacturers such as the Swedish Saab (the Gripen range of fighter aircraft).” He added, “We are not simply obliged to choose between the F-35 and European Eurofighter.”
Today is the deadline for submission of “best and final offers” by the suppliers for the American F-35 and European Eurofighter. France has confirmed that it did not respond to the tender procedure launched last March by the Belgian Minister for Defence for 34 new combat planes, a state-to-state transaction for an initial sum of €3.6 billion. The French government considers that it has more to offer than was explicitly expressed in the tender documents, which it feels were too restricted, and advances the idea of a “deep and structured partnership”, as part of stimulating the European Defence programme.
The candidates are all offering significant economic benefits for Belgium, in the event of the government choosing their given model.
Christopher Vincent
The Brussels Times
SpudmanWPANALYSIS: How F-16I loss will reshape Israel’s offensive strategy
A sequence of events that began with the shooting down of an Iranian copy of the Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel stealth unmanned air vehicle led to an Israeli air force Lockheed F-16I being shot down, and a massive aerial attack being launched against at least a dozen targets inside Syria.
Brig Gen Tomer Bar, second in command of the Israeli air force, says the Israeli strike inside Syria was “the biggest and most significant attack the air force has conducted against Syrian air defences” since the 1982 Lebanon War.
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One consequence of the military action could be to strengthen the air force’s calls to acquire more advanced Boeing F-15s and additional Lockheed F-35Is.
SpudmanWPA SAM cannot tell what kind of weapon a fighter has on the wing.
SpudmanWPHere is the link….
Israel explains Arrow intercept of Syrian SAM
https://www.defensenews.com/land/2017/03/20/israel-explains-arrow-intercept-of-syrian-sam/
Time to deploy Arrow/IronDome on the Northeastern border?
SpudmanWPI wonder if Iron Dome can intercept SAMS?
SpudmanWPWho says they are?
The only mention has been that unsubstantiated report from last year and that’s it. Israel had no problem talking (bragging?) about being the first to bring the F-15/16 into combat as well as the strike on the Syrian nuke plant. If they have indeed used the F-35, they would be showing footage from it as a way to let all the neighbors know that they can go anywhere they want with virtual impunity.
SpudmanWPPer the FY2019 budgets, all Pre-Block 3F F-35s will updated by Q4 2020. All the kits have been paid for and kit deliveries started in Q4 2017.
So much for the whole “100+ F-35s will never get updated” meme.
Lot 2-5 F-35As
Lot 6-8 F-35As
F-35Bs
F-35Cs
SpudmanWPThat’s Block 4, right?
The final SDD build is Block 3F and its hardware will also host Block 4.1. Block 4.2 (and 4.4) will introduce hardware upgrades which will likely include better CPUs (to handle the increased number and complexity of tasks), upgraded radar & ESM modules etc. They may also include one-off updates like better helmets, AdvEOTS, bay changes to have 3 AAMs, etc. On teh AdvEOTS issue, LM has already stated that they can recycle a lot of parts from existing EOTS so it’s not a throwaway item when updated. Block 4.3 will be software only based on the Tech Refresh3 hardware from Block 4.2).
So does this mean the 108 As plus 81 B/Cs as mentioned here will be brought to 3F
Yes as it’s just a software update. The budget says that it’s like an $1100 purchase (not including install).
Keep in mind that “Concurrency” mods are separate from “Block” updates and they are not typically interdependent.
The key thing to remember about the F-35’s architecture is that they thought well into the future when it came to updates.
For Example:
Every weapon station and all of its major components are interconnected with fiberoptics. Not only are these capable of more bandwidth than is currently needed, but by just changing the transceivers on either end the bandwidth can be substantially improved without the need to “rewire” the whole jet (this is one of the more expensive things holding back early F-22s).
Second, computer architecture is an “open” standard with little need for customized parts. Its software environment is based on Virtual Machines (VMs) connected to the hardware via “middleware”. The VMs allow for greater software stability and easy scaleablilty. The middleware allows LM to change the hardware (like updateing the helmet) while only needing to update teh middlewhare. No need to make a lot of changes in the avionics every time you make a hardware change. Think of middleware as a hardware driver for your PC.
This modular & open approach is what is allowing LM to bring Auto-GCAS to the F-35 ahead of schedule (by 5 years) and without the need of a Block or hardware update (ioc by 2019) .
https://www.f35.com/news/detail/f-35-to-incorporate-automatic-ground-collision-avoidance-system
SpudmanWPThat impacts the density of the T/R modules.
Exactly.. I think we were basically saying the same thing from both sides.
If you know the freq and the size of the nose then the number of T&Rs can be roughly calculated.
SpudmanWPFrequency has nothing to do with the physical size of the antenna
It does when it comes to AESA/PESA antennas. In order to be able to steer the beam, then the signal from one T&R needs to “interfere” with the T&R next to it. This requires precise spacing.
http://www.radartutorial.eu/06.antennas/Phased%20Array%20Antenna.en.html
SpudmanWPReally? How’s that working out. Answer: tbd.
Actually, pretty well. They key was designing the F-35 with the final SDD version in mind and only needing minor Block upgrades along the way.
Per the latest DOT&E report, all early Blocks are at least Block 2B and the rest are 3i/3F. Upgrade kits are already paid for & contracted and the only thing left is to upgrade them during their normally scheduled depot maintenance periods so as not to interrupt their normal duties. These kits are basically adding some ICP cards (no need to replace them all) Updating some Radar & ESM LRUs, etc.
Contrast this to the problem that the F-22 has in that it’s early Blocks depend on an entirely different hardware infrastructure that will require rewiring a good portion of the jet, replacing the entire ICP, etc.
There are only 88 Block 2B F-35s that need harware updates to get to Block 3F.
Per the latest budget (FY2017) 46 F-35A Block 3i upgrade kits (ie Blcok 2B to 3i with Tech Refresh 2) have been paid for during FY2015-17 and will be installed between FY2018-20. The 3F software will be installed at the same time.
Per the FY 2018 USN budget docs, 24 3i kits have been ordered for the F-35B and 11 3i kits for the F-35C have also been ordered. Install years were not listed for the B/C but maybe the FY2019 budget docs will give the details.
SpudmanWPThere are several things that keep the F-35 cheaper than the F-22 in terms of CPFH:
1. Economy of scale
2. One engine as opposed to two
3. Its RAM is much more durable than the F-22’s. They literally made a doormat of RAM that is still passing spec after been walked on for months.
4. More of the LRUs can be replaced via panels that do not require RAM patching to open & close
5. All of the F-35’s radar LRUs can be accessed from the nose-wheel bay. The radome never needs to be opened. It’s T&R count exceeds the spec so that losing a few T&Rs will not require opening the radome. The plan is to leave the radome sealed throughout the life of the fighter save for Block upgrade changes.
6. It’s ESM is simpler (ie less antennas) than the F-22.
7. The F-35 is more of a “software” driven aircraft so it can be updated via “patches” rather than minor hardware changes. It also is a standard so that all F-35s will be the same block. Early F-22s are a different avionics standard that can not be updated easily to the latest F-22 block. This requires multiple versions of the same piece of hardware to be produced thus reducing its already low economy of scale costs.
8. ALIS predicts part replacement timelines which reduce unplanned failures and allows for multiple maintenance events to be done at the same time.
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