F-35 gun INOP until 2019

[bring_it_on]

Folks tend to forget that their beloved Gripen (fancy of certain high profile reporters ) isn't intended to get an AESA for another few years while the F-15 has had it since the early 2000's. The Rafale was sent to war without an ability to designate targets using a pod but that was OK despite of older aircraft such as the F-16 having that capability. The F-35 on the other hand can do it from IOC. The typhoon would be very lucky to have a robust A2G capability before the end of 2016 or 2017 and the F-22 still lacks an a2g targeting pod. Yet the F-35 is held to a different standard at IOC even though its not awfully late compared to what the other platforms (particularly the euro birds) took from first flight to IOC.

[lookieloo]

Dave is already scrambling to spin his own narritive on the utter bull$hit he's been caught spouting.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2 ... um=twitter

It would appear that he's hoping to avoid being cut-out of the industry loop like Sweetman, but is merely digging the hole deeper. My guess is that he'll be reduced to blogging click-bait as well pretty soon.

[eskodas]

Does anyone have information on block software having to be certified by the services after "Fleet Release", I can only find airworthiness as a certification

[neptune]

[quote="count_to_10..There is no way the pod could be made turreted without adding a whole lot of weight, and even then the aerodynamics would be prohibitive.[/quote]

An engineer only loves a challenge!

[SpudmanWP]

ok, let's take a look at the rebuttal of the JPO's smack-down of the original article:

From the Rebuttal

neither the JPO nor Lockheed could dispute a single fact in either Daily Beast report.

Examples from the original article:

Joint Strike Fighter, won’t be able to fire its gun during operational missions until 2019, three to four years after it becomes operational.

Fact: LRIP 9 jets will have Block 3F and will start delivery in early 2017. Because of concurrency, both Operational units and OT&E units will get Block 3F at the same time. The DoD has stated that the F-35 could be used in wartime prior to IOC and since IOC is Block 3i then using a fresh 3F is not out of the question. This all boils down to the fact that the DoD could use an Operational F-35 at Block 3F (with it gun) as soon as 2017.

But even when the jet will be able to shoot its gun, the F-35 barely carries enough ammunition to make the weapon useful.

Fact: The F-35 carries more ammo than any other non-US front-line 4th gen fighter (Mig 29/35, SU 27/30/35, Rafale, Eurofighter, Gripen). While the F-15/16/18 carry more, the F-35 uses a 25mm shell as opposed to the 20mm of the F-15/16/18 and that shell is faster and more accurate.

Block 3F is slated for release in 2019

Fact: Block 3F is scheduled for release in 2017


I won't get into what is and in not CAS as that leans towards opinion and not fact, which is what i was covering above.

[spazsinbad]

UnderSlungSwivelGun:

VMM-365 MV-22 OSPREY with Interim Defensive Weapon System (IDWS)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVoksf_2y5k#t=257

[bring_it_on]

Apparently Dave is quite fond of citing anonymous officials "familiar with the matter"

China’s new Shenyang J-31 stealth fighter — making its debut next week at the Zhuhai international airshow — could eventually become more than a match for American stealth fighters in battle, several U.S. military and industry officials told USNI News.

The J-31 is China’s latest crack at developing a modern so-called fifth-generation stealth fighter — equivalent in ability to Lockheed Martin’s F-22 Raptor or F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter.

http://news.usni.org/2014/11/05/u-s-pil ... -f-22-f-35

In particular, the change in UCLASS from a deep strike stealthy penetrator into the current lightly armed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) focused aircraft was — in large part — to preserve a manned version of the F/A-XX replacement for the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, several Navy, Pentagon and industry sources confirmed to USNI News.

http://news.usni.org/2014/07/31/uclass- ... on-fighter

In his rebuttal to the JPO statement he mentions that he consulted a number of pilots and officials familiar with the program, yet he mentions absolutely nothing that was not already known 4 years ago. Anyone remotely familiar with the program could have written that story and made it sensational so as to meet the criteria for daily beast.

[KamenRiderBlade]

UnderSlungSwivelGun:

VMM-365 MV-22 OSPREY with Interim Defensive Weapon System (IDWS)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVoksf_2y5k#t=257

That turret is a work of art IMO.

[SpudmanWP]

That turret would not function at trans-sonic speeds.. but yes, it's gorgeous.

Although I would have gone with a GAU-19 based system.

Although, I guess if the purpose is area suppression then a 7.62mm based system has a higher ROF and ammo capacity.

[popcorn]

IIRC some years back they were testing a belly turret gun on the Osprey and the operators were reporting severe cases of vertigo. Curious how they addressed that issue.

[spazsinbad]

Pentagon: F-35 Gun Will Fire in 2017
08 Jan 2015 Brendan McGarry

"...Comprehensive flight test on the F-35A variant GAU-22 25mm gun system is scheduled to begin mid-year at Edwards AFB, Calif., and will include ground fire tests, muzzle calibration, flight test integration and in-flight operational tests,” he wrote.

The GAU-22/A, a four-barrel version of the 25mm GAU-12/U Equalizer five-barrel cannon found on the Marine Corps’ AV-8B Harrier II jump set, is designed to be internally mounted on the Air Force’s F-35A conventional model of the aircraft and hold 182 rounds. It’s slated to be externally mounted on the Marine Corps’ F-35B jump-jet variant and the Navy’s F-35C aircraft carrier version and hold 220 rounds.

That’s a drop in the bucket compared to the 30mm, seven-barrel GAU-8/A Avenger in the nose of the Cold War-era A-10 Warthog attack aircraft, which holds as many as 1,174 rounds.

But it’s actually more than the capacity of other existing front-line fighters, including the Russian MiG-25 and Eurofighter Typhoon, and enough to perform the close air support mission, according to Dave Stouffer, senior manager of business development at General Dynamics’ Ordnance and Tactical Systems unit.

“I love the A-10, I’m a former infantry guy,” he said in a telephone interview with Military​.com. “No one is going to sit here and say it’s going to be just as good as the A-10.” But, he added, “This 25mm in the Joint Strike Fighter can perform the ground support role … This is a very capable gun system.”

The weapon, one of many slated for the aircraft, is based on a design with a proven track record on both the Harrier and the AC-130 gunship, he said. Linked to the aircraft’s fire control and targeting software, it will fire highly accurate rounds at air-to-ground or air-to-air targets, he said. Also, the exposure point — the time it takes for the pilot to point the plane and its gun at a target — may only last a fraction of a second, translating to nine or 10 bursts of fire, he said.

The company has delivered about 75 of the guns to Lockheed Martin, according to spokeswoman Laurie VanBrocklin. “The weapon systems meet the performance specification of the JSF program and have completed a comprehensive acceptance test,” she said in an e-mail.

Meanwhile, computer lab testing of the 3F software in December revealed “a minor low-level issue with aircraft software that impacted the interface with the gun,” DellaVedova said. “This discovery was part of normal software development and testing and a plan is in place to resolve this issue by spring,” he said. “There is no anticipated impact to scheduled gun testing or fielding.”

Source: http://www.dodbuzz.com/2015/01/08/penta ... e-in-2017/

[mk82]

Dave is already scrambling to spin his own narritive on the utter bull$hit he's been caught spouting.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2 ... um=twitter

It would appear that he's hoping to avoid being cut-out of the industry loop like Sweetman, but is merely digging the hole deeper. My guess is that he'll be reduced to blogging click-bait as well pretty soon.

Dave Majumdar can go f**k himself. I suspect that anybody officially involved with the F35 program will just tell him to f**k off from now on whenever he tries to request information from them. Dave should win the Pulitzer Prize for journalism as he made a lot of sh*t up....way to go Dave....you can do it...burn all your bridges to reputable sources.

[XanderCrews]

Majumdar has doubled down...

[sferrin]

Majumdar has doubled down...

B.S trying to defend him:

http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/i ... #msg239655


(Guess they have to stick together- like Thelma and Louise. )

[KamenRiderBlade]

Majumdar has doubled down... :doh:

B.S trying to defend him:

http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/i ... #msg239655


(Guess they have to stick together- like Thelma and Louise. :lol: )

When will they drive off the cliff in a convertible?
I can't wait for that moment.