SpudmanWPPentagon Does Not See Path to Reduce F-35 Jet’s Cost – Program Evaluation Director
Really, now we’re doing Sputnik as valid news sources on American programs?
SpudmanWPThere is a House Subcommittee hearing on Tactical Air going on right now and it looks like it will have a bunch of info. I’ll post links to specific time-frames of relevant information. I will edit this post with links to new info as I hear given that the video is about 2 hours in length.
The F-35 to A-10 comparison was just completed in March of 2019. 2/3rds of the testing was done in the spring of 2018 with the final 1/3rd done in March of 2019. Final report will be ready by the end of the year.
https://youtu.be/7du-vfIWl2A?t=4065 (1:07:45 –> 1:12)
CPFH for F-35A: $44k in FY2018 with a plan for $34K by 2024. The “target” is still $25k by 2025.
https://youtu.be/7du-vfIWl2A?t=4660 (1:17:40 –> 1:20:45)
Early LRIP Jet Upgrades: The plan and budget is in place to have all early (ie TR1) F-35s upgraded to TR2 (Tech Refresh) config within 13 months (June of 2020). TR1 Jets are the main driver that is keeping the fleet-wide MC Rates low.
https://youtu.be/7du-vfIWl2A?t=5140 (1:25:40 –> 1:26:25)
Bio’s and statements are HERE (Lots):
https://docs.house.gov/Committee/Cal…EventID=109348
Committee page HERE:
https://armedservices.house.gov/hear…8-3C9A3354EC05
SpudmanWPLockheed Develops Rack to Make F-35A/C a Six-Shooter
ARLINGTON, Va. — The builder of the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter has designed a new weapons rack to enable the aircraft to carry two more missiles internally.
The new rack, called Sidekick, enables each of the two weapons bays of the Air Force F-35A and Navy carrier-capable F-35C to carry three AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) instead of the current two, for a total of six internally carried AMRAAMs.
Speaking May 1 to reporters at a Lockheed Martin media briefing, a company F-35 test pilot, Tony ‘Brick’ Wilson, said the rack was developed entirely with company internal research and development funds.
The rack is not compatible with the vertical lift Marine Corps F-35B version, which has smaller weapons bay.
The F-35 can carry more AMRAAMs on external pylons, but Wilson pointed out that carrying two more internally preserves the stealth characteristics of the F-35.
“The extra missiles add a little weight but are not adding extra drag,” Wilson said.
Wilson also said the company is working on integrating hypersonic weapons capability on the F-35.
He also said the company, working with the Air Force Research Lab, has developed and installed on the F-35A — six years ahead of schedule — the Auto Ground Collision Avoidance System (AGCAS).
The AGCAS has “saved eight pilots’ lives,” Wilson said. He said the AGCAS will be installed later on the F-35B and on the F-35C in 2021.
SpudmanWPComparing RCPFH to the Rafale’s Mali timeline is meaningless for two reasons:
1. RCPFH is an ANNUAL average cost where every aspect of MX will be touched at some point. It assumes and accounts for depot MX
2. The Mali operation CPFH only includes operations in the Mali area. If a Rafale has to return for MX it was not likely included in the calculation. As units rotated through the area that was also not likely included.
This is why the Rafale staying in contests like the Belgium one are important. By not doing so, Rafale continues to come up with any number for anything it wants to because it has never been part of an open, apples-to-apples competition.
SpudmanWPFirst F-35A Combat Op.
SOUTHWEST ASIA —
Two U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II aircraft conducted an air strike at Wadi Ashai, Iraq, in support of Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve on April 30.This strike marked the F-35A’s first combat employment.
The F-35As conducted the airstrike using a Joint Direct Attack Munition to strike an entrenched Daesh tunnel network and weapons cache deep in the Hamrin Mountains, a location able to threaten friendly forces.
“We have the ability to gather, fuse and pass so much information, that we make every friendly aircraft more survivable and lethal,” said Lt. Col. Yosef Morris, 4th Fighter Squadron commander and F-35A pilot. “That, combined with low-observable technology, allows us to really complement any combined force package and be ready to support AOR contingencies.”
The F-35As, recently deployed from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, joined the Combined Forces Air Component team in the U.S. Central Command area of operations on April 15. This marks the F-35A’s third deployment and first to the CENTCOM AOR. In preparation for deployment, crews prepared and trained on the aircraft for the AFCENT mission.
“We have been successful in two Red Flag exercises, and we’ve deployed to Europe and Asia,” said Morris. “Our Airmen are ready and we’re excited to be here.” Red Flag is the U.S. Air Force’s premier air-to-air combat training exercise which includes U.S. and allied nations’ combat air forces.
There are many Airmen ensuring the planes are ready for their combat missions.
“This jet is smarter, a lot smarter, and so it can do more, and it helps you out more when loading munitions,” said Staff Sgt. Karl Tesch, 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron weapons technician.
A central tenant to the F-35A’s design is its ability to enhance other battlefield assets. In this case, the aircraft joins the Combined Joint airpower team already in place to maintain air superiority and deliver war-winning airpower.
“The F-35A has sensors everywhere, it has advanced radar, and it is gathering and fusing all this information from the battlespace in real time,” said Morris. “Now it has the ability to take that information and share it with other F-35s or even other fourth generation aircraft in the same package that can also see the integrated picture.”
SpudmanWPNot only that, but Block upgrades, basing, etc are all included in USAF CPFH calculations but are likely all missing from that Libyan number which is why claiming CPFH on a single operation is a bogus calculation.
While Dassault is unwilling to talk in detail about the aircraft price for commercial reasons, it is keen to point out that Rafale’s operational costs have been baselined by the operations in Mali. The French air force has stated that during the Mali operations one hour of combat missions with the Rafale cost €14,000 (around CAD$19,000). That is the cost at its maximum operational tempo flying combat missions.
Funny how the US has no problem telling everyone exactly how much the F-35 costs anytime it’s asked.
SpudmanWPIf export orders always include these “licensing costs”, etc.. then that is the cost, period. It is more accurate to say that the French government get’s it at a discount and the Rest of the world pay’s full price.
Those earlier costs for the Rafale were “estimations” as no contract was signed. This was one of the issues that lead up to India balking at the Rafale’s “final” price. It looks like Rafale was quoting “internal” pricing and failed to mention all of the markups.
btw, Quoting an un-sourced CPFH for a single operation is bogus since parts, fuel prices, upgrades, etc would fluctuate wildly over it’s lifetime.
SpudmanWPIndian exact cost repartition is not known. Just suppositions. Nothing solid.
The numbers reported are very specific.
Fortunately, authentic figures are available for the €7.8 billion contract, signed in 2015, for 36 Rafales.
Soon after the contract was signed, a senior political leader in the National Democratic Alliance held an off-the-record briefing in New Delhi for several journalists, including this correspondent.
It was divulged that the contracted price averaged out to €91.7 million (Rs 686 crore/Rs 6.86 billion) per Rafale.
This included the purchase of 28 single-seat fighters, for €91.07 million (Rs 681 crore/Rs 6.81 billion) each; and eight twin-seat fighters, each priced at €94 million (Rs 703 crore/Rs 7.03 billion).
That puts the cost of each of the 36 ‘bare bones’ fighters at €91.7 million (Rs 686 crore) — totalling up to €3.3 billion.
Besides this, the IAF paid €1.7 billion for ‘India-specific enhancements’, €700 million for weaponry such as Meteor and SCALP missiles, €1.8 billion for spare parts and engines, and €350 million for ‘performance-based logistics’, to ensure that at least 75 per cent of the Rafale fleet remains operationally available.
All this added up to another €4.5 billion, taking the cost of the contract up to €7.85 billion.
https://www.rediff.com/news/special/…s/20171201.htm
Do you ever wonder why Rafale has withdrawn or tried a “side deal” with every competition where the F-35 is involved? The answer is simple, they try to hide the actual cost of the Rafale and cannot do so if involved in an open competition.
SpudmanWPThe chart I supplied represents the only annual apples-to-apples CPFH comparison available for US aircraft. It is updated every fall and represents a subset of the total CPFH calculation for US aircraft, specifically MX and fuel (RCPFH).
The source is here:
https://comptroller.defense.gov/Fina…rts/rates2019/
The “R” in RCPFH means “Reimbursable” and is basically MX & Fuel as RCPFH is the fee that one service charges another (or ally) for the use of an aircraft for a set number of hours.
Here is a graph that shows how RCPFH (the fits into the whole CPFH family of metrics.
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Looking at another “apples-to-apples” comparison, this time from the F-35 SAR, we see that the estimated lifetime average “full” CPFH for an F-35 (at the SAR) was only 14% above that of a current F-16.
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$25k will still be above the F-16, F-18, F-15C, and F-15E strike eagle.
The chart is only a subset of CPFH while the projected $25k is “full CPFH” As you can see in the chart, the F-35A is already below the F-15C for RCPFH and just above the F-15E. What is also obvious is that the F-35A is dropping steadily (except for this year’s freeze & inflation adjustment vs last year’s number) and the rest of the fleet is relatively unchanged.
Another supporting element pointing to the F-35’s sustainment costs dropping even further, the Belgium contract, which won on price, includes all support & block upgrades through 2030.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-aerospace-belgium/belgium-picks-lockheeds-f-35-over-eurofighter-on-price-idUSKCN1MZ1S0
SpudmanWPExcept that NO it is not cheaper.
…
Off the shelf prices for building countries are documented
Except that internal prices for countries like France do not contain the subsidy amounts. This was made evident when India reported on the cost breakdown of the Rafale where the plane itself was $110 mil, before a mysterious $50 mil “India customization” markup and did not include any support, parts or weapons.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen Eurofighter numbers but the F-35 did just beat them on price in Belgium so…
It’s also cheaper than the yet to be developed F-15X
That leaves the Gripen E/F as the only Western 4.5 gen fighter that is likely cheaper to buy than the F-35 (for anyone except for the host country).
Finally, “vastly” is well… An opinion
Yes, an opinion held by everyone who has ever flown it, be it a US pilot (with or without multinational experience) or a Partner pilot with experience in other jets like the Eurofighter.
Not to talk about astronomic CFPH…
Sustainment costs are another issue but the F-35 is on track to hit $25k CPFH by 2025 which is below current F-16 CPFH.
As you can see from this annual chart, the RCPFH (only MX and Fuel) numbers for the F-35A have been steadily falling since it’s introduction.
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SpudmanWPTime to introduce the right hand to the left hand…
But later in the day, Colonel John Hutcheson, the director of public affairs at U.S. Forces Japan, contacted the Nikkei Asian Review and said “the aircraft has not been located at the bottom of the sea. The U.S. military is still working with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force to locate the wreckage.”
SpudmanWPThe F-35A stealth fighter that crashed off the coast of Japan has been found, and recovery efforts are underway, a U.S. Air Force commander said Monday.
“The aircraft’s been located. … It’s now in the recovery aspect,” said Charles Brown, four-star general and commander of the Pacific Air Forces, in a briefing for reporters in New York.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Int…ocated-US-says
–maybe not, see below
SpudmanWPNew GAO report on F-35 Block 4 risks and contains some new info on the ongoing IOT&E
3 “risks” to the IOT&E are still present but related to scheduling other assets to support the program.
4 new Category 1 deficiencies found during IOT&E
Unresolved deficiencies: Existing or new deficiencies could negatively affect test results. According to DOT&E officials, since the start of operational testing, four new category 1 deficiencies have been identified, bringing the total to 17. According to DOD officials, it would not be unexpected during the course of operational testing for the program to discover additional deficiencies that may require resolution and re-testing. They gave a consolidated “R&M” chart (Reliability and Maintainability Targets), but the data is from August of last year.
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In June 2018, we recommended that the F-35 program identify what steps it needs to take to ensure the F-35 aircraft meet R&M requirements before each variant reaches maturity and update its R&M Improvement Program (RMIP)—DOD’s action plan for prioritizing and funding R&M improvement projects—with these steps.15 DOD concurred with our recommendation but has yet to take substantive actions to address it. It did, however, complete 16 improvement projects since we last reported on this. Despite completing these projects, there were not significant gains in the R&M metrics not meeting targets. Program officials advised, however, that measurable improvements in R&M can take time to manifest. To speed this process, the program is accelerating planned upgrades to older aircraft where appropriate, which officials stated should translate to an overall improvement in the program’s R&M performance.
SpudmanWPClusterTruck all around
SpudmanWPThe only thing that has been stated publicly is the speed envelope, which is unlimited (ie up to the max speed of the F-35). Since it’s cleared for max F-22 altitude, there would not be any F-354 specific limit on altitude.
Gs and AoA are the only unknowns.
Any followup to this should be put on the F-35 thread
forum.keypublishing.com/forum/modern-military-aviation/3845147-2019-f-35-news-and-discussion?goto=newpost
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