Software Develoment Delays Latest Problem To Hit The F-35 Program

Lagging JSF Software Development Worries Pentagon DOT&E

The latest report on the F-35 program by Michael Gilmore, the Pentagon’s director of operational test and evaluation (DOT&E), spotlights growing problems with late software deliveries for the stealthy fighter.

Software releases in 2012, the report says, ran late as compared to the schedule adopted after the 2010 technical baseline review, which was carried out in part to correct optimistic projections made before that date. (The program’s leaders had underestimated the amount of regression testing — tests to make sure that changes had not induced problems in previously tested functions — and overestimated test rates and productivity.)

Block 1 software is not complete. Lot 2 and Lot 3 aircraft have been delivered “with major variances against the expected capabilities,” the report says.

Junk F-35, Says POGO Director Amid Pricing, Underperformance Issues

Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter aircraft is an under-performing plane, according to Winslow Wheeler, Director of the Straus Military Reform Project of the Center for Defense Information, a part of the Project on Government Oversight.

      According to Wheeler, the F-35 is a mediocre aircraft because its “varied requirements force it to make compromises” and says that the aircraft should be boxed.

      Wheeler alleges that “manufacturer Lockheed Martin used a pricing vocabulary that masked the exorbitant costs”.

      “There is only one thing to do with the F-35: Junk it. America’s air forces deserve a much better aircraft, and the taxpayers deserve a much cheaper one. The dustbin awaits,” he told news website Foreign Policy.

      While not as expensive as F-22 Raptors, which cost upwards of $678 million apiece, the F-35 is the most expensive weapons program, with the total cost to buy and operate all F-35’s estimated to be more than $1.5 trillion, according to Foreign Policy.

      Meanwhile, ally Canada will have to rely on the U.S and other allies for air-to-air refueling of its F-35 aircraft because of the incompatibility between stealth fighters and Canada’s current refueling aircraft.


      According to reports, this highly critical move will make the Canadian Military heavily dependent on third parties to realize the full potential of the fighter aircraft.

      In 2011, Defence Minister Peter MacKay informed Parliament that the F-35 could handle different types of refueling systems, including the one currently used by the Canadian forces. This was also corroborated by Lockheed Martin when the contract was initially signed.

      But subsequent defense department documents revealed that the F-35 was, in fact, incompatible with Canada’s existing fleet of refueling aircraft.

F-35 warplane facing turbulence at home and abroad

Soaring way over budget and lagging far behind schedule, the F-35 warplane – once billed as “affordably stealthy” – is facing severe political turbulence at home and skittish buyers abroad. The combination could doom the entire $1.45-trillion program.
In the heady days when the all-purpose fighter-bomber was launched, Pentagon planners expected to buy more than 3,000, including hundreds that could hover like a helicopter and land vertically for the U.S. Marines and others that could launch and land on the U.S. Navy’s massive aircraft carriers.
Manufacturer Lockheed Martin was hoping allies, including Canada, would line up to buy more than 1,000 additional F-35s to give their air forces deep-strike capacity in heavily defended airspace – think China – and the ability to drop laser-guided bombs capable of destroying deeply buried targets.
But foreign buyers are getting cold feet.
Monstrously expensive and crippled by delays, the F-35 now looks less like the answer to a wide array of air force renewal prayers than an albatross. There are fears it would drag defence budgets into a mire of ‘too much money for too few planes’ that are designed to fight a war that seems increasingly unlikely.
Every cancellation drives the unit cost of the remaining F-35s – although billed at roughly $161-million each – higher and higher.
Australia
Initial plans to buy up to 100 F-35s were scaled back after the urgent need to replace the Australian Air Force’s obsolete bombers became clear. So 24 updated F-18s were purchased. The newest-model F-18s are considered by many as a proven, far-less-expensive alternative to the F-35, although Canberra remains officially committed to the fighter. So far only 14 have been ordered and the decision on another 24 has been pushed back until 2015.
Britain
After first announcing it wanted 138 of the most-complicated F-35 variant, one that can land vertically like a helicopter and is the U.S. Marines’ version, Britain changed its order to the U.S. Navy aircraft-carrier version that was supposed to be 25-per-cent cheaper. Now with costs escalating on that model, too, the government may switch back – even though British test pilots are already flying a pre-production model in Texas. Many analysts expect the total number to be cut by 30 per cent or more. The government said it won’t decide until 2015. Firm orders to date: three; one is flying.
Denmark
Although a member of the F-35 consortium, Denmark has made no purchase commitment. Instead, decision has been pushed back and Copenhagen is now expected to upgrade a couple of dozen of its aging F-16.
Israel
In 2010, Israel ordered 20 F-35s from Lockheed Martin at a cost of $2.8-billion but isn’t expecting deliveries until 2017. Eventually it plans to buy 75 of the fifth-generation warplane to maintain its clear air warfare superiority in the Middle East, Because of F-35 delays, Israel’s powerful air force is looking at an interim buy of refurbished F-15s from Boeing.
Italy
Cash-strapped Italy, which originally announced that it wanted 131 F-35s – but didn’t sign a contract – has already slashed the planned purchase to 90 of the fighter-bombers. That too is expected to be cut way back. The navy needs 22 warplanes for its new, medium-sized aircraft carrier but that may become the total purchase.

Japan
After announcing only last December that it would buy 42 F-35s, with the first four delivered in 2017, Japan’s Defence Minister Naoki Tanaka publicly warned earlier this year that delays or price increases would imperil the entire contract. “We would need to consider as a potential option matters like cancelling our orders and starting a new selection process if that is the case,” he said. Losing Japan, with more than 300 warplanes, many of them needing replacement, would be a major blow, as the order for 42 F-35s was widely seen as an initial tranche of a 100-plus aircraft program.
Netherlands
The first Dutch F-35 was completed last summer but the planned purchase of 85 aircraft remains in jeopardy. A Dutch government study questions the cost estimates and some defence analysts suggest only 40 aircraft will be purchased. Decisions have been pushed back to 2015.
Norway
Even as it delayed until 2024 final deliveries of the 52 F-35s it plans to buy, the Norwegian government gave the troubled warplane program a rare vote of confidence earlier this year. “Despite changes made by other partner nations, Norway finds that its previous and robust real-cost estimates remain accurate,” it said, adding it would take its first four aircraft earlier than expected.
Turkey
Bold plans to buy 100 F-35 fighters seem to be fading although the Ankara has not officially scaled back – or committed to – the purchase.
Other likely buyers
They include Saudi Arabia, among the richest and most regular buyers of U.S. big-ticket military hardware, South Korea, Singapore and Brazil.

Norway pushes for further assurances over JSM integration on F-35

London - Norway's deputy defence minister Eirik Øwre Thorshaug is to meet with officials from Lockheed Martin and the F-35s Joint Program Office in the first week of December, as Oslo seeks further assurances over the integration of the Kongsberg Joint Strike Missile (JSM) on to the stealthy fighter.

 

Oslo has committed to acquiring an initial four examples of the F-35A conventional take-off and landing variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, but securing the ability to field Kongsberg's "fifth-generation" munition was a pre-requisite for its order. It could eventually acquire up to 52 aircraft to replace its fleet of Lockheed F-16s, in a procurement exercise worth a total of NKr61.2 billion ($10.8 billion).

Although Norway has received what Thorshaug describes as "good signals on the political level" in its efforts to ensure integration, largely in the form of a letter from US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, he acknowledges the process "is not finished".

"We are pushing and leaning forward in that respect, towards both [Lockheed] and the US government," he said during an event in Kongsberg to mark the unveiling of the first JSM fuselage. "We will not rest or hesitate in bringing this issue to our partners or important US ally.

"For the Norwegian government it is crucial to get the JSM integrated, mainly because we need to be operationally capable in relation to our national defence needs."

The Royal Norwegian Air Force views the JSM, with its range of about 150nm (277km) and ability to target and attack heavily armed naval vessels, as a key asset for defending its lengthy coastline.

However, Kongsberg also sees a potential market for the highly manoeuvrable missile, which can also neutralise land targets, with other F-35 partner nations worth a minimum of NKr20-25 billion. Harald Ånnestad, company president, says it has already held initial discussions with Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and South Korea over possible sales.

But Ånnestad is so confident about the weapon's performance and lack of a direct competitor, he believes the USA will also purchase the JSM for its F-35s, rather than spend valuable funds on developing a rival. "The market window is wide open for our missile," he says.

Additionally, Kongsberg will offer the munition for deployment on legacy fighters, principally Boeing's F/A-18, in the 2015 timeframe, although Ånnestad acknowledges nations will have to fund the integration work themselves.

Kongsberg aims to complete the JSM's critical design review by mid-2013, thereby securing a further contract from the Norwegian government to move into the next development phase.

This envisages flight testing and qualification using either Norwegian F-16s or US Navy F/A-18s in 2014, says Pål Bratlie, executive vice-president of Kongsberg's missile systems division. Integration work with the F-35 will then begin, aiming for deployment when aircraft with the Block 4 software upgrade begin to roll off the production line around 2020.

The JSM is derived from Kongsberg's Naval Strike Missile. Bratlie says changes to the munition's shape - partly driven by the need to fit inside the F-35's internal weapons bays - have helped the JSM to gain about 50nm in range over its sibling. It will also be enabled for land as well as naval warfare, he says. Additional modifications were required to allow it to cope with the extreme changes in temperature experienced between carriage in the weapons bay and deployment, he adds.

"There's nothing else on the market now, or in development, that has the same capability as the JSM," he adds.

Edwards F-35A Completes First AIM-120 Amraam Internal Weapons Release

An F-35A test aircraft, flown by U.S. Air Force Maj. Matthew Phillips, completed the first aerial weapons release of an AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile) from a conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) aircraft, Oct. 19. The aircraft, known as AF-1, jettisoned the instrumented AIM-120 over the China Lake test range from an internal weapons bay. This was the second in-flight weapons release in three days for AF-1 as it completed the release of a 2,000 pound GBU-31 BLU-109 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) Oct. 16. The F-35A 5th Generation fighter is designed to carry a payload of up to 18,000 pounds using 10 weapon stations. The F-35A features four internal weapon stations located in two weapon bays to maximum stealth capability. The CTOL aircraft can also utilize an additional three weapon stations per wing if required. Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs about 120,000 people
worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation's net sales for 2011 were $46.5 billion.