F-35 Deployment to Kadena (Nov 2017)

Discuss the F-35 Lightning II
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by afjag » 24 Oct 2017, 13:13

12 F-35s from the 34th FS are heading to Kadena AB for a 6 month deployment. I wonder if they will be deployed with Block 3F software?



https://www.airforcetimes.com/air/2017/ ... -november/


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by spazsinbad » 24 Oct 2017, 13:47

Info on this posted here earlier: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=53553 Air Force F-35s coming to Japan in November

Why would F-35s use software not cleared for use? When 3F is available then it will be installed as required.


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by afjag » 24 Oct 2017, 14:07

spazsinbad wrote:Info on this posted here earlier: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=53553 Air Force F-35s coming to Japan in November

Why would F-35s use software not cleared for use? When 3F is available then it will be installed as required.


There were numerous reports indicating an initial version of 3F was being uploaded to the 34 FS beginning in September. If it didnt happen, thats fine, but my assumption is that it was.


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by SpudmanWP » 24 Oct 2017, 14:35

Given that there are only 2-3 F-35s coming off the line every month and that the 34th just got their 1st F-35 at Block 3F in September, then no, they will not be deploying to Japan at Block 3F as the new wing is not up to strength. They also need time to stand up with the new wing before they are deployed.
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by afjag » 25 Oct 2017, 20:18

Assuming this article has good sources, here is confirmation of what I was wondering:

"However, the aircraft that are going to be deployed to Kadena have the older interim Block 3i software "

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-bu ... ived-22891


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by gc » 05 Dec 2017, 05:48

Some nice photos of the F-35A forward deployment to Korea from Kadena. With those F-16s carrying loaded out with GBU-31 JDAMs, I wonder if the Lightnings are similarly armed internally.

http://alert5.com/2017/12/05/f-35as-at- ... uth-korea/


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by popcorn » 28 Mar 2018, 04:07

Update on the 34FS deployment to Kadena. Looks like they're having a blast, playing with Eagles and learning what their new mount can do.

https://www.defensenews.com/smr/kadena- ... -in-japan/

How is the F-35 improving its dogfighting skills in Japan?

“It’s a blast. I really, really enjoy it,” said Fantasia, a fairly new pilot who graduated in January from the inaugural F-35 basic flight class. Fantasia and the five other “B-course” graduates are the first pilots trained from the start to be F-35 operators. They didn’t have prior experience in another combat aircraft like an F-22 or F-16.

Now, those pilots get to learn not only from the more knowledgeable F-35 operators based at Hill, but the F-15 pilots of Kadena, whose training consists of tactics and techniques that have been passed down and refined over nearly four decades.

“The training itself, we’re really taking advantage of the joint part of the exercise,” Fantasia said. “So the ability to see everybody’s different capabilities and then ultimately put that into one fluid scenario, it really allows for a lot of successes out there and a lot of chances to learn from each other.”...

Capt. Brock McGehee, a pilot from Kadena’s 44th Fighter Squadron who has been flying F-15s for two years, characterized the F-35 as an “extremely capable” air-to-air fighter, during a February interview with Defense News.

“It’s just kind of scary a little bit to fly around in the dark with an invisible airplane that’s around you somewhere,” he said. “Those guys are very good pilots, their situational awareness is very high and they do a good job of keeping us in the loop of where they are when they’re on the same team as us.”

McGehee compared the F-35 to its fifth-generation brother, the F-22 Raptor. Both are stealth aircraft, making them very difficult to detect at long distances. But in close combat, an F-15 will engage an F-22 and F-35 very differently, he said. He declined to discuss specifics that could reveal tactics, techniques and procedures and provide an adversary with hints about how to best either aircraft.

“An F-22, if you’ve ever watched the demo of it, you can turn inside out. It’s ridiculous,” he said. “An F-35, it turns differently. So that’s just [basic fighter maneuver] kind of awareness for us of what to do differently.”

So can the F-15 beat the F-35 in dogfights?

“I mean, sometimes,” McGehee said, adding that all aircraft lose in aerial combat sometimes, and for various reasons.
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by playloud » 28 Mar 2018, 04:17

popcorn wrote:Update on the 34FS deployment to Kadena. Looks like they're having a blast, playing with Eagles and learning what their new mount can do.

https://www.defensenews.com/smr/kadena- ... -in-japan/

How is the F-35 improving its dogfighting skills in Japan?

“It’s a blast. I really, really enjoy it,” said Fantasia, a fairly new pilot who graduated in January from the inaugural F-35 basic flight class. Fantasia and the five other “B-course” graduates are the first pilots trained from the start to be F-35 operators. They didn’t have prior experience in another combat aircraft like an F-22 or F-16.

Now, those pilots get to learn not only from the more knowledgeable F-35 operators based at Hill, but the F-15 pilots of Kadena, whose training consists of tactics and techniques that have been passed down and refined over nearly four decades.

“The training itself, we’re really taking advantage of the joint part of the exercise,” Fantasia said. “So the ability to see everybody’s different capabilities and then ultimately put that into one fluid scenario, it really allows for a lot of successes out there and a lot of chances to learn from each other.”...

Capt. Brock McGehee, a pilot from Kadena’s 44th Fighter Squadron who has been flying F-15s for two years, characterized the F-35 as an “extremely capable” air-to-air fighter, during a February interview with Defense News.

“It’s just kind of scary a little bit to fly around in the dark with an invisible airplane that’s around you somewhere,” he said. “Those guys are very good pilots, their situational awareness is very high and they do a good job of keeping us in the loop of where they are when they’re on the same team as us.”

McGehee compared the F-35 to its fifth-generation brother, the F-22 Raptor. Both are stealth aircraft, making them very difficult to detect at long distances. But in close combat, an F-15 will engage an F-22 and F-35 very differently, he said. He declined to discuss specifics that could reveal tactics, techniques and procedures and provide an adversary with hints about how to best either aircraft.

“An F-22, if you’ve ever watched the demo of it, you can turn inside out. It’s ridiculous,” he said. “An F-35, it turns differently. So that’s just [basic fighter maneuver] kind of awareness for us of what to do differently.”

So can the F-15 beat the F-35 in dogfights?

“I mean, sometimes,” McGehee said, adding that all aircraft lose in aerial combat sometimes, and for various reasons.

And of course...

http://alert5.com/2018/03/28/f-15s-from ... dogfights/
F-15s from Kadena have beaten the F-35A in dogfights
In an interview with Defense News, a F-15 pilot from the 44th Fighter Squadron says the F-35A has been defeated by the Eagle during mock dogfight training.


Totally not the context of the actual interview.


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by spazsinbad » 28 Mar 2018, 04:19

UhOH... posted here earlier by the :mrgreen: 'winsome doggy icon' :mrgreen: looks like all of it too....

viewtopic.php?f=59&t=53576&p=391816&hilit=Insinna#p391816

JUST becuz it is mentioned by BOREDfive I'll post dat viddy soonish like....


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by SpudmanWP » 28 Mar 2018, 05:40

playloud wrote:Totally not the context of the actual interview.

Like "Veteran F-15 pilots beat by rookie F-35 pilots in most WVR fights".
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