“Supersonic launch of internal weapons, including maximum-speed (Mach 1.6) launch of internal air-to-air missiles, is a feature of all F-35s.”
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2010/101420ae_f35A_AF-2_1st-flight.html
Of course, this is unverified atm (no F-35 has flown Mach 1.6 yet), but the aircraft is still in the early stages of flight test. It is an important milestone however. The F/A-18E/F had a nasty surprise when flight test revealed weapons separation issues, which necessitated a redesign of the pylons – resulting in increased drag and reduced range.
AW&ST ran an article today where P&W’s F135 has exceeded 50,000 lbs thrust at sea level. That is a killer for those who claim F136 with RR content is needed because it provides more thrust.
Not necessarily. The F136 has a larger core which theoretically can move more air at cooler temperatures. There is potential thrust increase and reliability factor (less heat = less wear) that F136 can provide that should not be overlooked.
C-SPAN had a lengthly segment Monday that featured LTG Hough, former JSF program office head (1999 – 2001) talking about the F-35 and what it means for the future tactical aircraft force structure. A few of his points were inaccurate, but he is understandably a huge supporter of the program. And he strongly advocates the (F136 as a) second engine option.
F-35B questioned
Tactical Aviation’s Existential Debate: To Hover or Not to Hover?
September 2010
By Sandra I. Erwin
Interview w/ Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton re: SDSR
Israeli F-35I flyaway at $96m
“The Israeli purchase of 20 Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighters, to be designated F-35I, comes with an integral support package, sustaining the aircraft through its service life for $2.75 billion total.
Israel will get the F-35I at a flyaway cost of $96 million, slightly above the estimated average $92.5 figure predicted by the Pentagon. This cost reflects the inclusion of specific Israeli systems. More indigenous systems to be included in future batches could further increase the cost of the F-35I.
The cost cited by the Israel Ministry of Defense reflects $150 million cost per aircraft, inclusive with the acquisition of necessary infrastructure, training, logistics and support.”
Thanks Maus92 – there are two articles in this months AirForces Monthly is about the Super Hornet and one of the points made in one of the articles is the F/A-18F ability to act a forward air controller (for reference it is the article “in combat with the Rhino”, based on an interview with Lt Cdr John Turner who flies a F/A-18E).
I found this months AirForces Monthly rather timely 🙂
Thanks for the tip – I’ll have to go to the bookstore and buy the issue.
well they have made up their minds and the f-35 is it, no super hornets
if he had access to why they decided that about the f-35, he could probably say “sweet” no wonder they did
The Air Force had their mind made up when they strove to purchase 750 F-22’s, but that decision proved to be unsustainable in fiscal terms and unsupportable in the current political environment. The point is that circumstances surrounding a decision change over time, whether we like it or not. Having viable options, like the F/A-18F, is good.
Not sure how political a Lt Commander would be, and he is likely biased by the fact he flies F/A-18 C for (I assume) the Marines but he does make a valid point about the fact no-one is going to use F-35B in austere forward position that is vulnerable to enemy indirect fire – this is an issue that the USM, RAF/RN and the other F-35B users are going to have to address – likely by purchasing C RAM systems to protect their forward deployed F-35B’s if they want to get the full use out of them
He is a Navy F/A-18F pilot in Strike Fighter Squadron 213 “The Blacklions,” and a department head in his squadron. I found it interesting that even though he is a pilot, he understands the value of the WSO.
So according to that article Israel gets 20 F-35 for free, but to “sweeten the terms of the deal” Lockheed promises to buy more Israeli made components for the aircraft from now on? Gosh, the Israelis sure are good/tougth negotiators! :confused:
Yup. Jobs program for IAI. An Israeli company already produces tailplanes for F-15E’s. (K,I,S,SK)
Interesting article from the Armed Forces Journal about Marine Corps strategy and the F-35B. The author suggests buying fewer F-35B’s and supplementing them with F/A-18F’s – noting that you can buy 3 F/A-18F’s for the cost of one F-35B – and adding new capabilities at the same time.
your link doesnt work, but israel does get aid from usa, what they buy from usa is up to them, as history shows
Odd – it works for me, from the link in my post on this forum. The title of the article is:
“Israel Places Order For 20 F-35s; U.S. Picks Up The Tab”
published on the Defense Tech blog.
the first “non partner” order
israel will order an initial 20
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-approves-purchase-of-20-lockheed-martin-f-35-fighter-jets-1.308177
What the article does not mention is that the US will pay for the planes as they are considered military aid. Nice to have a generous daddy.
http://defensetech.org/2010/08/16/israel-places-order-for-20-f-35-jsf-u-s-picks-up-the-tab/
I’d like to see the contract for the LRIP 4 F-35’s. Sure is taking a long time to finalize the details.