F-35 program updates

bjr1028 · by **bjr1028** » 14 Sep 2019, 18:40

Corsair1963 wrote:The F-15EX is looking less and less attractive.....Going to be hard to sell that to Congress!

Air Force will fight tooth and nail for them. This is a proxy fight about F-X.

marsavian · by **marsavian** » 14 Sep 2019, 21:16

bjr1028 wrote:
Corsair1963 wrote:The F-15EX is looking less and less attractive.....Going to be hard to sell that to Congress!

Air Force will fight tooth and nail for them. This is a proxy fight about F-X.

Could you elaborate and expand on this please ? Are you saying F-X will be in competition with F-35 or that F-X will eventually replace all F-15 and the more to be replaced the better for F-X ?

Corsair1963 · by **Corsair1963** » 15 Sep 2019, 23:48

bjr1028 wrote:
Corsair1963 wrote:The F-15EX is looking less and less attractive.....Going to be hard to sell that to Congress!

Air Force will fight tooth and nail for them. This is a proxy fight about F-X.

I hate to break it to you but the USAF never wanted the F-15EX. It was pushed on them by the OSD... :doh:

sferrin · by **sferrin** » 16 Sep 2019, 00:45

This.

weasel1962 · by **weasel1962** » 16 Sep 2019, 08:55

Sep 1 fast facts. 425 delivered, 890 pilots and 8230 maintainers trained.
https://www.f35.com/assets/uploads/docu ... 9_2019.pdf

New commercial, nice vid.
https://www.f35.com/news/detail/the-f-3 ... -connected

Dragon029 · by **Dragon029** » 29 Oct 2019, 23:48

An agreement for Lots 12-14 have finally been signed; the F-35A is now down to $77.9 million flyaway.

https://www.f35.com/news/detail/pentago ... by-12.8-pe

marsavian · by **marsavian** » 13 Nov 2019, 17:00

SpudmanWP · by **SpudmanWP** » 14 Nov 2019, 07:29

Subcommittees on Readiness and Tactical Air and Land Forces Joint Hearing: “F-35 Program Update: Sustainment, Production, and Affordability Challenges”

Homepage (with video)
https://armedservices.house.gov/hearing ... 8024D80798

Congressional Library with biography and statement PDFs.
https://www.congress.gov/event/116th-co ... 84?s=3&r=3

spazsinbad · by **spazsinbad** » 09 Dec 2019, 00:26

F-35 Program must be getting close to 250,000 flight hours so here is a comparison from 1964 to 1973 USAF F series from:

From Controversy to Cutting Edge - A History of the F-111 in Australian Service 2010 Mark Lax
http://airpower.airforce.gov.au/APDC/me ... ervice.pdf (7.4Mb)

sprstdlyscottsmn · by **sprstdlyscottsmn** » 09 Dec 2019, 16:35

I'd love to see that info on the teen series too, and the F-117/22

outlaw162 · by **outlaw162** » 09 Dec 2019, 17:08

The 'most dangerous' fighter in the US military recently is the AV-8A, with a mishap rate of 31.77 per 100,000 hours which equates to 79.4 losses per 250,000 hours. (AV-8B dropped the rate to about 11 per 100,000 hours) Teen series not even close.

(edit: This speaks to what a fantastic machine the F-35B is.)

The AV-8A ('widow-maker') doesn't even make the top 8 on that chart. But I think the F-7U and F-8 numbers are competitive.

So the 'winner' is:

quicksilver · by **quicksilver** » 09 Dec 2019, 17:48

Someone explain the chart to me.

blindpilot · by **blindpilot** » 09 Dec 2019, 18:35

outlaw162 wrote:...
The AV-8A ('widow-maker') doesn't even make the top 8 on that chart. But I think the F-7U and F-8 numbers are competitive.

So the 'winner' is: [F-100]

I'm sorry but my anecdotal memory and even the chart gives this to the F-104. The extra "accident" count (fender benders?) does not offset the loss of life and writeoff's (destroyed). F-104 will always reign supreme in this category. Ask the Germans.

MHO,
BP

quicksilver · by **quicksilver** » 09 Dec 2019, 18:50

outlaw162 wrote:The 'most dangerous' fighter in the US military recently is the AV-8A, with a mishap rate of 31.77 per 100,000 hours which equates to 79.4 losses per 250,000 hours. (AV-8B dropped the rate to about 11 per 100,000 hours) Teen series not even close.

(edit: This speaks to what a fantastic machine the F-35B is.)

The AV-8A ('widow-maker') doesn't even make the top 8 on that chart. But I think the F-7U and F-8 numbers are competitive.

So the 'winner' is:

Last AV-8A retired about 32 years ago...not sure how that qualifies as ‘recently.’ :wink:

I also don’t see anything on the chart that suggests a ‘rate’ per X number of hours — only numbers of events that leave one guessing wrt to modern stratification by severity, consequence and/or cost.

Also found this in the archives that suggests a ‘rate’ per 100K flight hours — https://web.archive.org/web/20191023204 ... 22&f=false

outlaw162 · by **outlaw162** » 09 Dec 2019, 19:34

From the QS link:

Only #2, story of my life, always the bridesmaid, never the bride. I do see the F-105 dubiously moved up to #3 however. (With the Viper at #4, that gives me 3 out of 4, only one of whose statistics I involuntarily added to.)

(As old as I am, 32 years seems like a relatively short time.

)

As for the graph, I think it says American fender-benders, not Luftwaffe, but could imply American made equipment which leaves out the CFs.

Fender-benders? :shock: