JSF F-35 Lightning II

Rappel du premier message :

Bonjour à tous,

Le F-35 est l'avenir de beaucoup de forces aériennes, il remplacera les F-16, A-10, Harrier et autres. Je propose que soient postées ici, si vous êtres d'accord, toutes les infos au sujet du F-35. Merci de m'avoir lu.

Article (en anglais) fort intéressant sur l'avion qui comprend un pdf avec les différents armements que pourra emporter le F-35, tant en soutes, que sous les ailes. Furtif, moins furtif...

http://www.codeonemagazine.com/archives/2007/articles/apr_07/lightningstrike/index.html

Dans cet autre article, une image montre qu'il serait aussi possible de rajouter de l'armement en bout d'aile, info, intox?

http://www.codeonemagazine.com/archives/2002/articles/arp_02/jsf/index.html

Rafi

F-35C drop test...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6BsCvDgbsc

Rafi

Citation :

US Air Force F-35 completes first test flight


April 23, 2010 by Rob Vogelaar


4/22/2010 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) – The Air Force version of the F-35A flew for an hour April 20 from Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, Texas, becoming the seventh F-35 Lightning II to fly.
AF-2, the conventional takeoff and landing aircraft, is the Air Force’s version of the Joint Strike Fighter. This fifth-generation fighter is the first one to carry an internal GAU-22/A 25-millimeter Gatling gun weapon system.
“The first flight of AF-2 is a significant achievement for the F-35 program, the U.S. Air Force and our international partners who will operate the F-35A,” said James “Sandy” Sandstrom, Lockheed Martin’s F-35 U.S. Air Force program manager. “This aircraft is configured to test and verify the multiple weapons loads that will deliver fifth generation combat capability to the warfighter.
Source and Picture: USAF

aviationnews

Citation :

ATK Announces $250 Million in Contract Awards for F-35 Lightning II Composite Wing Skins, Nacelles, and Inlet Ducts

Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) announced today that it has received a contract in excess of $240 million from Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) to produce additional composite components for low rate initial production (LRIP) lots 4 - 8 of the F-35 Lightning II – or Joint Strike Fighter. Under the terms of the contract with Lockheed Martin, ATK will use advanced fiber-placement technology to provide upper wing-box skins, lower wing-box skins, and engine nacelle skins for the conventional take-off and landing (CTOL), and short take-off/vertical landing (STOVL) variants of the F-35. Production will take place at ATK's Clearfield, Utah facility beginning in 2010, and continuing through 2015.
Separately, the company announced that it has successfully expanded its content on the F-35. ATK has received a new $10 million contract from Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) to manufacture composite inlet ducts for the F-35. Northrop Grumman is the design authority and primary producer of the inlet ducts and has contracted ATK as a second source supplier for inlet duct production. ATK will begin manufacturing inlet ducts during the low rate initial production (LRIP) phase 4 of the program with deliveries occurring through mid-2011. The follow-on, full-scale production phase of the contract is potentially worth an additional $40 million. Production of the inlet ducts will take place at ATK's facility in Rocket Center, West Virginia.
The F-35 Lightning II is a 5th generation fighter, combining advanced stealth with fighter speed and agility, fully fused sensor information, network-enabled operations, advanced sustainment, and lower operational and support costs.
"The F-35 is a cornerstone of ATK's growth strategy for our aerospace structures business. Combined with existing work on commercial aircraft such as the Airbus A350, and the potential of new composite contracts for both military and commercial aircraft, our Aerospace Structures business is well positioned to become one of ATK's growth engines," said Mark DeYoung, President and CEO.
ATK pioneered the automated fiber placement process in the early 1980s and is an industry leader in the production of fiber-placed aerospace structures. ATK has 11 fiber-placement machines and proprietary production processes that shorten the manufacturing cycle, and produce extremely high quality, complex composite components with unmatched repeatability.

defpro

Le F-35 est un concept très intéressant d'avion de combat sachant tout faire en différentes versions qui couvrent les besoins tant de l'Air force que de la Navy ou du corps des Marines. Les capacités affichées qui seraient les siennes m'impressionnent vraiment, un tant soit peut que ce qui est écrit à son sujet corresponde à la réalité. A l'échelle du Rafale il a encore 17 ans pour faire ses preuves. Si les crédits R et D sont plombés c'est que l'avion représente un sacré défi technologique, furtif et multirôle. Quoi qu'on en pense le fait de pourvoir tirer ses munitions sur un machine sans que celle-ci puisse répondre car incapable de reconnaître l'appareil qui lui tire dessus, si ça fonctionne, c'est puissant.

l´avantage de la furtivité,mais peut etre que la reponse viendra avec les radars low freq..

Citation :

Lockheed Martin F-35 Fighters Arrive Together At Edwards AFB

Two Lockheed Martin F-35A stealth fighters (AF-1 and AF-2) fly side-by-side during a May 11 test flight near Fort Worth

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. | Two Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters flew nonstop from their final-assembly site in Fort Worth, Texas, to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., today, signaling a further expansion of F-35 flight test operations. The arrival is the first in a series that will increase the Edwards F-35 test fleet to at least eight aircraft.
U.S. Air Force Test Pilot Lt. Col. Hank “Hog” Griffiths and Lockheed Martin Chief Test Pilot Jon Beesley flew the jets, known as AF-1 and AF-2, nonstop in the first multi-ship, long-range F-35 flight.
“The ferry flight went very smoothly, and reflects how the Air Force and Lockheed Martin will work cooperatively as we enter long-term F-35 testing at Edwards,” Beesley said. During the jets’ deployment to Edwards, the F-35s will undergo ground- and flight-test activities for propulsion, aerial refueling, logistical support, weapons integration and flight-envelope expansion.
“Through rigorous flight testing we are developing dominant and lethal 5th generation fighter capability for America and her allies,” said Doug Pearson, Lockheed Martin vice president of F-35 test and verification. “This historic moment at Edwards Air Force Base begins the planned expansion of F-35 flight test to a third permanent operating location. Lockheed Martin F-35A flight testing is a highly integrated partnership with the United States Air Force.” Three F-35s are currently undergoing flight trials at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., the primary test site for the F-35B short takeoff/ vertical landing variant and the F-35C carrier variant. F-35s have conducted more than 200 test flights, with six additional test aircraft scheduled to begin flying and deploying to the two test sites this year.
The F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant – designed to meet U.S. Air Force requirements – is also the primary export version of the Lightning II. The air forces of Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway will employ the F-35A.
F-35 test aircraft are supported by the F-35 Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) and managed by the Lockheed Martin F-35 Sustainment Operations Center in Fort Worth. ALIS is the worldwide support system reporting and recording the prognostics and health of all F-35s around the globe to ensure mission readiness.
The F-35 Lightning II is a 5th generation fighter, combining advanced stealth with fighter speed and agility, fully fused sensor information, network-enabled operations, advanced sustainment, and lower operational and support costs. Lockheed Martin is developing the F-35 with its principal industrial partners, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. Two separate, interchangeable F-35 engines are under development: the Pratt & Whitney F135 and the GE Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team F136.

defpro

Citation :

F-35: le chef du Pentagone menace de nouveau de veto le projet de 2e moteur

Le secrétaire américain à la Défense, Robert Gates, a répété jeudi qu'il recommanderait au président Barack Obama d'opposer son veto à toute tentative du Congrès pour financer la recherche d'un deuxième moteur pour le futur avion de chasse F-35 de Lockheed Martin

lepoint

Citation :

Lockheed Martin : Le F-35 menacé aux Pays-Bas



Article publié le 23 mai 2010 par Olivier Larmande
Le parlement néerlandais a voté en fin de semaine dernière une proposition pouvant amener à réévaluer complètement le programme de remplacement des 108 F-16 MLU équipant le pays.


Lockheed Martin F-35B

Lockheed Martin

La chambre basse du parlement néerlandais a voté jeudi dernier l'annulation de la commande du premier F-35 commandé en Mai 2009, ainsi que l'arrêt de la participation des Pays-Bas au processus de test opérationnel et d'évaluation du Joint Strike Fighter. Une réévaluation complète du programme de remplacement du F-16 est aussi à l'ordre du jour, les estimations de prix fournies par Lockheed Martin en 2002 et 2008 étant rendues caduques par les derniers rapports des Joint Estimate Team et Government Accountability Office (organismes américains) de 2009. La proposition du PvdA (sociaux-démocrates) a été suivie par d'autres partis pour finir par être adoptée par 79 voix contre 71. L'opposition des sociaux-démocrates au F-35 est dûe, outre les dérapages de coût et de délais, au fait que les données sur les nuisances sonores de l'avion ne sont pas encore disponibles, alors que le sujet est sensible pour les néerlandais résidant près de bases aériennes.

L'actuel gouvernement néerlandais est un gouvernement provisoire, à la suite du départ le 20 février dernier du PvdA de la coalition au pouvoir. Alors que le retrait des troupes néerlandaises était prévu cette année, le premier ministre Jan Peter Balkenende, membre du CDA (chrétiens démocrates), avait tenté de trouver un compromis avec l'administration Obama pour étendre un peu la présence des troupes néerlandaises, ce qui avait provoqué la chute de son cabinet. Les prochaines élections générales sont prévues pour le 9 Juin prochain.

D'après le ministre de la défense Eimert Van Middelkoop, sortir du programme coûterait aux Pays-Bas 20 millions d'euros, en plus des 800 millions déjà dépensés. En tant que ministre d'un gouvernement provisoire, il estime ne pas pouvoir prendre une telle décision, qui engagerait le gouvernement suivant.

La participation au programme date de 2002, les Pays-Bas ayant accepté de participer au développement et à la production du nouvel avion américain. A l'époque, les résultats de la comparaison avec le Rafale et l'Eurofighter donnaient le JSF gagnant avec 6.97, suivi par le Rafale à 6.95, et l'Eurofighter Typhoon à 5.85. Les coûts pris en compte étaient bien entendu ceux prévus en 2002, bien avant leurs derniers dérapages.

Les doutes sur la pertinence de l'achat de F-35 avaient amené à une nouvelle évaluation du programme, en 2008. Dassault et EADS ayant refusé de faire participer leurs Rafale et Eurofighter à cette nouvelle évaluation, le F-35 avait été seulement comparé au Gripen NG et au Advanced F-16, limitant ainsi l'intérêt de l'étude. Le résultat, basé seulement sur les données fournies par les constructeurs, fut d'après le ministère de la défense une nette supériorité du F-35 par rapport à ses concurrents sur la plupart des profils de mission, ainsi qu'un coût réduit. Les autres critères incluaient le prix et les délais de livraison.

aeroweb-fr

belle série reese !

merci ! on aura beau dire cet avion reste tres impressionnant a voir

Citation :

P&W: Cost For Next Batch of F-35 Engines 10% Less
Pratt & Whitney officials expect to emerge from negotiations with the Pentagon having achieved savings in the double-digit percentage range for the latest batch of 36 F135 engines for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.

"We delivered our [low-rate initial production, or LRIP, lot 4 offer] on Sept. 15" to complement "the multiyear, multi-[LRIP] cost-reduction proposal" that was approved by the Pentagon's Joint Estimating Team, David Hess, president of the East Hartford, Conn.-based engine maker, said May 26 during a breakfast meeting with reporters in Washington.
In the short term, the plan should yield a cost reduction of more than 10 percent per engine over the $667 million previous purchase of 21 engines, known as LRIP 3, said Warren Boley, president of Pratt & Whitney's military engines division.
Overall, the plan should put the F135 program on track to reduce its costs by up to 40 percent over the engine program's 30-year lifetime, he said.
Pratt's cost-reduction plan outlines "every action, every activity to come down the cost" curve, Hess said. "I have told the [F-35 program office] repeatedly that we should have a five-minute negotiation."
However, negotiations for the 36 engines have been held up by the Pentagon's restructuring and recertification of the F-35 program in the wake of predictions that the program would breach the Nunn-McCurdy statute capping per-unit cost growth in major weapon systems.
"The recertification should be complete June 1, at which time, then, the [F-35 program office] should be able to make forward progress," Hess said.
The company has been expecting the Pentagon's counter offer, he said: "It was going to be a few weeks ago, it was going to be last week, it was going to be this week. We're hopeful that next week we'll get their first reply for our LRIP 4 proposal."
Hess shot back at claims made earlier this week by rival F-35 engine partners General Electric and Rolls-Royce that Pratt's engine has encountered development problems. He said that any delays to the F135 were simply due to Pentagon-mandated changes to the thrust and weight requirements.
A week ago, the U.S. House Armed Services Committee included $485 million for the development of General Electric and Rolls-Royce's F136 alternate engine for the F-35 in its markup of the 2011 defense authorization bill, despite threats from the Pentagon and White House that such a measure would be vetoed.
Two pro-Pratt & Whitney lawmakers, Reps. Earl Blumenthal, D-Ore., and John Larson, D-Conn., are introducing legislation that would kill funding for the alternate engine during the full House floor vote on the issue, expected this week.
The U.S. Senate is also taking up the F-35 engine issue during its markup of the defense authorization bill on May 27.

defensenews

Citation :

GE Praises House Vote on Joint Strike Fighter




FAIRFIELD, CT — Responding to the U.S. House of Representatives vote in favor of continued funding for the competitive engine being developed by GE and Rolls-Royce for the Pentagon’s Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, GE issued the following statement:
“We are pleased that the U.S. House of Representatives has once again voted in favor of the JSF competitive engine. This vote reaffirmed the Congress’ strong and long-standing commitment to the F136 program. It is a win for competition and a win for the American taxpayers. The JSF competitive engine will save $20 billion over the 30-year span of the Joint Strike Fighter program, according to the independent Government Accountability Office.
GE is deeply gratified by the support it received from House members, and the House Armed Services Committee leadership, who voted to continue funding the competing JSF engine. These members demonstrated strong support for the core principle of acquisition reform – competition.”
Source: General Electric

aviationnews

Citation :

Pentagon: Total F-35 Price Tag Could Reach $382 Billion





Senior Pentagon officials on June 1 announced the F-35 fighter and five other major weapon systems have surpassed a legal cost threshold, while also criticizing the review process that triggers the "Nunn-McCurdy breaches."

The Defense Department told lawmakers the F-35 fighter program could cost as much as $382.4 billion, with each Lightning II model coming with a $92.4 million price tag, according to DoD budget documents
Those cost estimates assume the program continues down the current path, which officials told reporters they are working to avoid. One senior Pentagon official – who declined to point to a specific cost target - said efforts already are under way to move the overall cost of the F-35 program "as close as possible" back toward substantially smaller estimates crafted in 2002.
The Defense Department sent the new estimates to Congress after determining the program had breached the so-called Nunn-McCurdy statute, which requires the Pentagon to notify Congress when major defense programs experience substantial cost growth.
The $92.4 million per-model estimate is what defense officials refer to as a "cradle-to-grave" projection, meaning spanning each fighter jet's entire life, the senior official said.
The Pentagon restructured the F-35 program just several months ago after internal DoD cost estimates showed the tri-service, international fighter initiative's price tag had grown more than expected – and more than the joint program office claimed. This formal congressional notification, the senior official said, is merely a reflection of the same growth – "the paperwork has caught up to that."
Why the bigger price tag? There are several primary drivers. One is the Navy several years ago reduced the number of F-35s it will buy. A second is a more difficult development process, which required additional years – and thus, became more expensive. The senior official said the program "will continue to struggle" with keeping the development phase on track, in part because the technology on the short take-off and landing variant is so complicated.
A DoD summary of the F-35 breach calls higher than projected "contractor labor and overhead rates and fees" the "single largest contributor to cost growth."
The senior official said the new F-35 program management has been ordered to pare these costs because "I do not think that the department should have to incur those costs."
As for the projected $382.4 billion overall price of the program, the senior official said the hope is "the taxpayers never have to pay that bill."
Meanwhile, a senior Lockheed official said the company was very pleased with the results of the recent restructuring and reiterated the company's stance that it does not expect the program to cost anywhere near the Pentagon's $382 billion estimate.
"I cannot foresee any scenario where those numbers become a reality," the official said.
Instead, the official said he expects the next batch of 32 production jets, known as "low-rate initial production lot 4," to cost more than 20 percent less than that projection. The previous batch of production aircraft also cost about 20 percent below the Pentagon's per-jet projections.
Lockheed officials have said previous Pentagon F-35 estimates have relied too heavily on data from older fighter programs, such as the F-22 Raptor and F/A-18EF Super Hornet.
Also breaching the cost growth threshold was the Navy's truncated DDG 1000 destroyer program. Costs grew from $20 billion to just over $22 billion, DoD said. The senior official pegged this growth to the Navy opting to buy three instead of 10, which drives up unit costs.
As part of the Nunn-McCurdy process, DoD officials have ordered the destroyer program to strike the "Volume Searching Radar hardware from the ship baseline design … in order to reduce cost for the program," according to a department fact sheet. The Navy has been ordered to shift the program's initial operating capability date back one year, to 2016, and alter testing and evaluation requirements.
The Air Force-led Wideband Gapfiller satellite program also experienced a breach, the result of a break in production (between satellites 6 and 7), and the subsequent production re-start costs when the service opted to build two additional WGS orbiters (satellites 7 and . The cost grew from around $3 billion to just over $3.5 billion. The officials said Pentagon officials are mulling future satellite communications needs, leaving open the door to buying additional WGS satellites.
The Army's Apache Block III program also made the list of over-budget programs. The initial intent was to overhaul 634 existing helicopters, but 56 "new build" birds were tacked on to meet war demands. The revamped helos saw cost growth of $9.9 billion to $12 billion; the new aircraft costs went from $2 billion in 2006 to $2.3 billion. The department has split the "AB3" program into two parts – one focused on the new helicopters and another for the upgrades ones – which has resulted in "a more conservative set of estimating assumptions." Both are slated for a milestone C review this summer.
Another Army program made the list: the Advanced Threat Infrared Countermeasures/Common Missile Warning System, designed to take out infrared homing surface-to-air missile attacks on helicopters. The ATIC effort's costs grew from $900 million in 2003 to $1 billion; the CMWs portion's estimated price swelled from $3.1 billion in 2003 to $3.5 billion. The causes were "technological immaturity and unrealistic performance expectations," according to a DoD fact sheet.
Further, the Navy's Remote Minehunting System breached the cost growth threshold primarily because of "the result of lower than planned procurement quantities, unrealistic estimating, and failure to adequately address reliability issues," according to DoD. Costs grew from $1.2 billion in 2006 to $1.4 billion.
Each of the six programs avoided termination because Pentagon acquisition executive Ashton Carter deemed each essential to U.S. national security, which is required by the Nunn-McCurdy statute.
But is the Nunn-McCurdy process worth it? The senior official said the Pentagon is working on cost estimates of how much the Pentagon puts into the Nunn-McCurdy process. Some DoD brass wonder "whether the Nunn-McCurdy process is in Nunn-McCurdy," the senior official quipped.
Another DoD official said that estimation should be completed in several weeks.
The senior official said Pentagon leaders want to use the new Performance Assessments and Root Cause Analysis (PARCA) office to perform a similar function. PARCA has established by 2009 defense acquisition reform legislation, but Congress allowed the Pentagon to craft its charter.
In December, Carter signed a memo outlining how PARCA would work.
Its members would spring into action upon request by the defense secretary, DoD acquisition chief, a service secretary or a DoD agency director, according to the Dec. 9 memorandum.
The group would perform one of two kinds of analyses on major acquisition programs: * A performance assessment, which would "evaluate the cost, schedule, and performance of the program, relative to current metrics, performance requirements, and baseline parameters," the memo said. "The assessments shall determine the extent to which the level of program cost, schedule, and performance relative to established metrics is likely to result in the timely delivery of a level of capability to the war fighter."
* A root-cause analysis, which would examine the "underlying causes for shortcomings in cost, schedule and performance." It would also determine whether program shortcomings were due in part to "unrealistic performance expectations; unrealistic cost and schedule plans; immature technologies; and excessive manufacturing or integration risk," the memo said.
Both kinds of analyses would look at whether problems were caused by "unanticipated design, engineering, manufacturing, or integration issues arising during program performance; changes in procurement quantities; inadequate program funding or funding instability; [or] poor performance by government or contractor personnel responsible for program management," the memo said.
One defense analyst said the re-certification of the F-35 program was a done deal, showing the Nunn McCurdy process might not be working.
"Certification of F-35 is no big surprise because three of the defense department's four military services are counting on getting it, and there is no evidence of major design or engineering problems," Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute wrote in a June 1 blog post. "But doesn't it make you wonder what the point of these costly reviews are, when even programs the department has targeted for termination are certified as complying with Nunn-McCurdy criteria for continuance?"  John Reed and Kate Brannen contributed to this report.

defensenews

Citation :

Lockheed Martin F-35 : Premier vol de la version embarquée



Article publié le 8 juin 2010 par Nicolas Perron
Lockheed Martin a annoncé que la version embarquée destiné à la US Navy, le F-35C, a effectué son premier vol dimanche dernier.


Lockheed Martin F-35C

Lockheed Martin

Le vol a duré 57 minutes et tout s’est déroulé comme prévu. L’appareil était piloté par Jeff Knowles, pilote d’essai de Lockheed Martin, retraité de la Naval Air Force qui a servi sur des F-14 et qui était également le pilote d’essai en chef du programme F-117.
« Je suis ravi que le F-35C ait atteint cette étape importante », a déclaré le vice-amiral Thomas J. Kilcline, commandant de la Naval Air Force. « Ce vol marque le début d'un nouveau chapitre dans l'aviation navale. Les systèmes de mission de cet avion permettront au commandement d’avoir une capacité sans précédent pour lutter contre un large spectre de menaces et de gagner dans des scénarios opérationnels que nos aéronefs actuels ne peuvent résoudre. En tant qu’appareil longue portée, furtif, embarqué, le F-35C fournira aux pilotes de la Marine un chasseur de cinquième génération avec la technologie la plus avancée possible pour effectuer les missions de notre nation. »
Le F-35C se différencie des autres versions par une aile et des surfaces de contrôle plus grandes permettant une manipulation de précision et une vitesse d'approche plus faible pour les atterrissages sur porte-avions. La visibilité et la résistance de la structure ont également été améliorées pour les opérations en mer.

aeroweb-fr

Le F-35 Joint Strike Fighter décollage court a volé plus vite que la vitesse du son pour la première fois le 10 Juin,L'avion a accéléré jusqu'à Mach 1,07 (727 miles par heure) sur le premier d'une longue série de vols supersoniques prévu

Citation :

Lockheed Martin F-35 STOVL Variant Flies Supersonic

PATUXENT RIVER, Md., June 14th, 2010 — The Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-35 Joint Strike Fighter short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) variant flew faster than the speed of sound for the first time June 10, achieving a significant milestone. The aircraft accelerated to Mach 1.07 (727 miles per hour) on the first in a long series of planned supersonic flights.



“For the first time in military aviation history, supersonic, radar-evading stealth comes with short takeoff/vertical landing capability,” said Bob Price, Lockheed Martin’s F-35 U.S. Marine Corps program manager. “The supersonic F-35B can deploy from small ships and austere bases near front-line combat zones, greatly enhancing combat air support with higher sortie-generation rates.” The F-35B will enter service for the Marines, the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, and the Italian Air Force and Navy.

The supersonic milestone was achieved on the 30th flight of the F-35B known as BF-2. U.S. Marine Corps pilot Lt. Col. Matt Kelly climbed to 30,000 feet and accelerated to Mach 1.07 in the off-shore supersonic test track near Naval Air Station Patuxent River. Future testing will gradually expand the flight envelope out to the aircraft’s top speed of Mach 1.6, which the F-35 is designed to achieve with a full internal weapons load of more than 3,000 pounds. All F-35s are designed to launch internal missiles at maximum supersonic speed, as well as launch internal guided bombs supersonically. During the flight, Kelly accomplished 21 unique test points, including several Integrated Test Blocks to validate roll, pitch, yaw and propulsion performance.

BF-2 is the third F-35 to achieve supersonic flight. Two F-35A conventional takeoff and landing variants also have broken the sound barrier.

The F-35 program has about 900 suppliers in 45 states, and directly and indirectly employs more than 127,000 people. Thousands more are employed in the F-35 partner countries, which have invested more than $4 billion in the project. Those countries are the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway.

Three F-35 variants are under development – the F-35A CTOL variant to replace U.S. Air Force F-16s and A-10s, as well as aircraft employed by seven allied nations; the F-35B STOVL variant to replace U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers and F/A-18s, U.K. Royal Air Force and Royal Navy Harrier GR.7s, GR.9s and Sea Harriers, and Italian Harriers; and the F-35C carrier variant to replace U.S. Navy F/A-18s.

The F-35 Lightning II is a 5th generation fighter, combining advanced stealth with fighter speed and agility, fully fused sensor information, network-enabled operations, advanced sustainment, and lower operational and support costs. Lockheed Martin is developing the F-35 with its principal industrial partners, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. Two separate, interchangeable turbofan engines are under development: the Pratt & Whitney F135 and the GE Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team F136.

Source: Lockheed Martin

Citation :

Lockheed Martin wins $43 million contract for F-35 joint strike fighter from US

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $43,800,000 contract for the development, integration, verification, and validation of verification simulator capabilities for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in October 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

defenseworld

Citation :

Lockheed Martin F-35 Navy Jet Confirms Carrier-Landing Strength Predictions


June 23, 2010 by Marcel van Leeuwen · 1 Comment

FORT WORTH, Texas, June 23rd, 2010 — A Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-35C Lightning II carrier variant successfully completed testing in which it was dropped from heights of more than 11 feet during a series of simulated aircraft-carrier landings. The tests validated predictions and will help confirm the F-35C’s structural integrity for carrier operations.
The jet, a ground-test article known as CG-1, underwent drop testing at Vought Aircraft Industries in Grand Prairie, Texas. No load exceedances or structural issues were found at any of the drop conditions, and all drops were conducted at the maximum carrier landing weight. The drop conditions included sink rates, or rates of descent, up to the maximum design value of 26.4 feet per second, as well as various angles and weight distributions. The tests were used to mimic the wide range of landing conditions expected in the fleet.
“The completion of the drop tests is an important step in clearing the way for field carrier landing testing and shipboard testing at high sink rates –a necessary feature for a carrier-suitable strike fighter,” said Larry Lawson, Lockheed Martin executive vice president and F-35 program general manager. “This testing also validates the design tools and analysis used in building a structurally sound, carrier-suitable fighter.”
This final drop test follows the recent first flight of the first F-35C.
The F-35 program has about 900 suppliers in 45 states, and directly and indirectly employs more than 127,000 people. Thousands more are employed in the F-35 partner countries, which have invested more than $4 billion in the project. Those countries are the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway.
Three F-35 variants are under development – the F-35A CTOL variant to replace U.S. Air Force F-16s and A-10s, as well as aircraft employed by seven allied nations; the F-35B STOVL variant to replace U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers and F/A-18s, U.K. Royal Air Force and Royal Navy Harrier GR.7s, GR.9s and Sea Harriers, and Italian Harriers; and the F-35C carrier variant to replace U.S. Navy F/A-18s.
Source: Lockheed Martin

Citation :

Lockheed Martin awarded $522 million contract for F-35 JS fighter aircraft by U.S

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded an advance acquisition contract with an estimated value of $522,200,000 to provide for long-lead efforts and materials associated with the production and delivery of 42 low-rate initial production Lot V F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.

This contract provides for 22 conventional take off and landing aircraft for the Air Force; 13 short take off and vertical landing aircraft for the Marine Corps; and seven carrier variant aircraft for the Navy.

Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (35 percent); El Segundo, Calif. (25 percent); Warton, United Kingdom (20 percent); Orlando, Fla. (10 percent); Nashua, N.H. (5 percent); and Baltimore, Md. (5 percent).

Work is expected to be completed in May 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured.

This contract combines purchases for the Navy ($329,100,000; 63 percent) and Air Force ($193,100,000; 37 percent).

The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

defenseworld.

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Lockheed Martin F-35A Becomes Second Variant To Fly With Mission Systems


July 8, 2010 by Marcel van Leeuwen · Leave a Comment


FORT WORTH, Texas, July 7th, 2010 — The ninth Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter entered flight testing on Tuesday, becoming the second test jet to fly with the next-generation avionics package that will populate all operational F-35s. The F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant, known as AF-3, flew for 42 minutes during its first flight.
F-35 Test Pilot Bill Gigliotti took off at 6:20 p.m. and initiated a series of flying-qualities tests in a flight focused on propulsion and vehicle systems operation. Some mission systems data were collected before the flight was curtailed by storms in the area.
“AF-3 is very much like the first production F-35s we will deliver to the U.S. Air Force later this year,” said Doug Pearson, Lockheed Martin vice president of F-35 Test and Verification. “AF-3 will be the workhorse for demonstrating the lethal 5th generation combat mission systems capability that will reside in all F-35s.”
The F-35’s avionics, or mission systems, are the most comprehensive and powerful ever to fly in a fighter. The Lightning II gathers, processes and applies data from a wide array of on-board and off-board sensors, enabling the jet to perform command-and-control functions while providing unprecedented situational awareness to the pilot, other air assets and surface forces.
The jet will begin testing with its AESA radar; electronic warfare system; integrated communication, navigation and identification system; inertial navigation system; global positioning system; integrated core processor; and helmet-mounted display system, then integrate other sensors as flight testing progresses. An F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) variant became the first test jet to begin flying the mission systems package on April 7.
Three F-35 variants are under development – the F-35A CTOL variant to replace U.S. Air Force F-16s and A-10s, as well as aircraft employed by seven allied nations; the F-35B STOVL variant to replace U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers and F/A-18s, U.K. Royal Air Force and Royal Navy Harrier GR.7s, GR.9s and Sea Harriers, and Italian Harriers; and the F-35C carrier variant to replace U.S. Navy F/A-18s.
The F-35 Lightning II is a 5th generation fighter, combining advanced stealth with fighter speed and agility, fully fused sensor information, network-enabled operations, advanced sustainment, and lower operational and support costs. Lockheed Martin is developing the F-35 with its principal industrial partners, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems.
The F-35 program has about 900 suppliers in 45 states, and directly and indirectly employs more than 127,000 people. Thousands more are employed in the F-35 partner countries, which have invested more than $4 billion in the project. Those countries are the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway.
Source: Lockheed Martin

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F-35 Lightning II Initial Flight




The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter makes its initial flight Dec. 15 over Fort Worth, Texas. (Lockheed Martin photo/David Drais)

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Lockheed Martin Marietta Facility Kicks Off F-35 Lightning II Center Wing Assembly Production



MARIETTA, Ga., July 28th, 2010 — Officials at the Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] facility here formally announced the start of F-35 Lightning II center wing production operations at the plant during a ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday.
Actual center wing assembly work for the multi-role 5th generation aircraft will begin July 30 in the Marietta site’s massive B-1 aircraft production building. The F-35 work area will occupy more than 320,000 square feet, and the assembly activity is projected to employ more than 600 workers by 2016 as the program ramps up to full-rate production of one aircraft per workday.
The F-35 is a true international program with eight countries partnering with the U.S. to develop and produce the aircraft. Final assembly of the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter takes place at the Lockheed Martin facility in Fort Worth, Texas. Establishing the program’s center wing assembly operation in Marietta helps alleviate capacity constraints at the Fort Worth location while taking advantage of available manufacturing capacity and 5th generation aircraft production expertise the Marietta site offers.
“This is a very proud day for us in Marietta as we begin to support production of the largest military aircraft acquisition program in history,” said Lee Rhyant, executive vice president and general manager of the Lockheed Martin Marietta site. “We have state-of-the-art facilities, and our workers have the skill, the dedication and even the 5^th generation fighter expertise to build this critical component. We’re ready to support the F-35 now and in the future; it’s time to get to work.”
According to Larry Lawson, executive vice president and general manager of the F-35 program for Lockheed Martin, the Marietta center wing assembly operation will play an important role in meeting customers’ needs for an affordable, high-quality product.
“Marietta’s available facilities, tooling and worker experience with the F-22 are key enablers for F-35 program production,” said Lawson. “The operations here will help us realize greater efficiencies, deliver quality and meet F-35 production rates.”
The F-35 Lightning II is a 5^th generation fighter, combining advanced stealth with fighter speed and agility, fully fused sensor information, network-enabled operations, advanced sustainment and lower operational and support costs. Lockheed Martin is developing the F-35 with its principal industrial partners, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems.
Source: Lockheed Martin

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Harris Receives F-35 Avionics Production Contract
Harris Corporation has received a follow-on contract from Northrop Grumman to supply avionics systems for the US F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft.
Under the $55m three-year contract, Harris will provide next-generation avionics infrastructure, fibre-optic network solutions and power supplies for the Lockheed Martin F-35.
The infrastructure and electronics will provide more efficient, affordable and higher-capacity avionic capabilities than before.
The latest contract will include the production of up to 32 additional F-35 aircraft.
The F-35 has been designed to replace the A-10, the AV-8 Harrier, the F-16 and the F/A-18

airforce-technology

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Northrop Grumman Delivering Success in Transition to F-35 Full Rate Production


As recently as two years ago, the company, a principal and founding member of the Lockheed Martin-led F-35 industry team, was delivering a center fuselage for this fifth generation, multi-role fighter to Lockheed Martin’s final assembly facility in Fort Worth, Texas about once every 30 days. With this week’s delivery of the center fuselage for the F-35 designated AF-14, however, that delivery interval has now dropped to just 10 days. And by early next year, the number is expected to drop to eight days.

“We’re moving steadily down the production learning curve, streamlining our processes and increasing our workforce as we continue to transition from delivering approximately two center fuselages per month to an eventual rate of delivering one center fuselage per day,” said Mark Tucker, vice president and F-35 program manager for Northrop Grumman’s Aerospace Systems sector.

Northrop Grumman is responsible for the production of all center fuselages for all three variants of the F-35: conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL); short takeoff, vertical landing (STOVL); and the carrier variant. All F-35 center fuselages are currently being assembled in the company’s Palmdale Manufacturing Center

According to Mike Jones, director of F-35 production operations for Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, the steady drop in production interval – the time between center fuselage starts, or between center fuselage deliveries – can be attributed to the company’s larger and increasingly skilled F-35 workforce, and to its more efficient utilization of center fuselage production tools.

“For the past year, we’ve been on a pretty consistent 12-day production interval cycle,” said Jones. ”Over the last month or so, during the latter phases of assembling the center fuselage for BF-12, an F-35B STOVL aircraft, however, we’ve transitioned to a 10 day production interval cycle to support Lockheed Martin’s updated final assembly schedule. The delivery of AF-14 is the first center fuselage to reflect that new, lower production interval.”

The shrinking delivery interval has also been aided by the fact that Northrop Grumman’s F-35 touch-labor force has grown from about 65 employees two years ago to more than 250 employees today, added Jones. That work force is expected to reach 300 by the end of the year.

Over the longer term, Northrop Grumman plans to reach the full production rate of completing approximately one center fuselage per day using a new integrated assembly line (IAL) currently being installed at its Palmdale Manufacturing Center. Expected to begin operations in early 2011, the IAL will feature automated guided vehicles that will simplify the process currently used to move center fuselage structures from one assembly station to the next. It is expected to help reduce F-35 program costs, and improve the precision and overall quality of the center fuselage production process.

In addition to producing the F-35 center fuselage, Northrop Grumman also designed and produces the aircraft’s radar and other key avionics including electro-optical and communications subsystems; develops mission systems and mission-planning software; leads the team’s development of pilot and maintenance training system courseware; and manages the team’s use, support and maintenance of low-observable technologies.

Source: Norhtrop Grumman

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Lockheed Conducts First Flight of F-35 EOTS
Lockheed Martin has conducted the first flight of the F-35 Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS) on the Cooperative Avionics Test Bed (CATBird) platform.
The EOTS flight on the CATBird is the final step before integration on the BF-4, the first mission systems-equipped F-35 test aircraft.
The CATBird includes an actual F-35 cockpit and test stations to perform real-time analysis as mission systems are evaluated.
It provides the capability to fuse sensor information, which will offer pilots higher quality and shared sensor information compared with legacy platforms' federated sensor architectures.
During the current Block 1.0 software system test, the EOTS operated in an integrated mode and collected aircraft navigation data for sensor alignment.
The F-35 EOTS will provide high-resolution imagery, automatic target tracking, infrared search and track, laser designation and range finding with laser spot tracking.

airforce-technology