Australian lawmakers confident in F-35's future

[optimist]

a couple of podcasts that I have probably put up before
http://apdcpodcasts.blogspot.com.au/201 ... r-adf.html
Force Level Electronic Warfare for the ADF

Delivered by WGCDR Paul Jarvis on 27 April, 2017

In August 2012 Government approved the acquisition of an EA-18G Growler Airborne Electronic Attack capability to provide a Force Level EW (FLEW) capability for the ADF. The first of these 12 Growler aircraft, to be operated by the Air Force, arrived into Australia at the Australian International Air Show on 28 February this year.

http://apdcpodcasts.blogspot.com.au/201 ... r-adf.html
Growler: Force Level Electronic Warfare for the ADF

Delivered by Group Captain Glen Braz on 23 September, 2014

The EA-18G Growler is a specialised Electronic Warfare (EW) variant of the F/A-18F Super Hornet, designed to support ground, sea and air operations through its capability to detect, analyse, identify, disrupt, deter and destroy adversary radar and communications systems. The Growler comprises a suite of electronic systems installed in a modified F/A-18F for Electronic Support (ES) and Electronic Attack (EA) missions.

[white_lightning35]

How much money would it cost to turn a SH into a growler? Does anyone think it would better fit the raaf's requirements to gain some more EW capability at extra cost?

It seems like this will be some high-level stuff. Is there any talk of exports yet to close allies, or is it ameristrailia's secret sauce?

[neptune]

[quote="white_lightning35"]How much money would it cost to turn a SH into a growler? Does anyone think it would better fit the raaf's requirements to gain some more EW capability at extra cost?

....both money and time?

It seems like this will be some high-level stuff. Is there any talk of exports yet to close allies, or is it ameristrailia's secret sauce?

...."secret sauce" is for USA/ Aus and only for a SBUG type?? No!,..the invisible a/c and the B.U.s would make use of this, as well!

[Dragon029]

How much money would it cost to turn a SH into a growler? Does anyone think it would better fit the raaf's requirements to gain some more EW capability at extra cost?

$1.7 billion / 12 aircraft = $141.7 million each:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/cost-of- ... 23qjl.html

It ended up being cheaper just to buy 12 brand new Growlers at $1.5 billion ($125m each):
https://www.airforce.gov.au/Technology/ ... FVFKb02OLN

[white_lightning35]

How much money would it cost to turn a SH into a growler? Does anyone think it would better fit the raaf's requirements to gain some more EW capability at extra cost?

$1.7 billion / 12 aircraft = $141.7 million each:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/cost-of- ... 23qjl.html

It ended up being cheaper just to buy 12 brand new Growlers at $1.5 billion ($125m each):
https://www.airforce.gov.au/Technology/ ... FVFKb02OLN

Tis expensive then. I was just thinking about the SH's and NGJ and mashed them together, thinking that a growler is worth more than a SH. I wasn't aware of there being such a large cost disparity.

[element1loop]

How much money would it cost to turn a SH into a growler? Does anyone think it would better fit the raaf's requirements to gain some more EW capability at extra cost?

$1.7 billion / 12 aircraft = $141.7 million each:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/cost-of- ... 23qjl.html

It ended up being cheaper just to buy 12 brand new Growlers at $1.5 billion ($125m each):
https://www.airforce.gov.au/Technology/ ... FVFKb02OLN

Tis expensive then. I was just thinking about the SH's and NGJ and mashed them together, thinking that a growler is worth more than a SH. I wasn't aware of there being such a large cost disparity.

Wasn't it the case that the pre-fit for-but-not-with 'G', in the prior 12 thus wired F, included extra capabilities from the get go, such as regional precision passive-targeting and tracking - prior to potential G upgrade?

Thus not just a potential $ waste, but had immediate operational benefit. As I remember the difference between G and F system cost during initial build was originally reported as about $30 mil AUD per F. If the capability delivered was such, that passive targeting and tracking, plus signal intel, would be worth the investment ... if/when you really needed it. In which case, a good move on many levels.

[spazsinbad]

ALL THE WAY with eN Gee Jay!

U.S. Navy, Royal Australian Air Force solidify radar system collaboration
02 Nov 2017 PEO(T) Public Affairs

"NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. – The U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly develop the latest jammer technology.

The Airborne Electronic Attack Systems and EA-6B Program Office (PMA-234) and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) will cooperatively mature the AN/ALQ-249 Next Generation Jammer Mid-band (NGJ-MB) capability from here forward.

Program Executive Officer for Tactical Aircraft Programs U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Mike Moran, PMA-234 Program Manager U.S. Navy Capt. Michael Orr, and RAAF Air Vice Marshal Cath Roberts attended the event held at U.S. Pacific Fleet Headquarters, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Oct. 18.

“This is a very important milestone for both nations,” said Orr. “PMA-234 is officially a joint program office partnering with one of our allies. It took four years of communication and collaboration to get to this point, and I commend both nations for their dedication to this partnership.”

The MOU provides the framework for communication, coordination and cooperation between the U.S. Navy and the RAAF during the NGJ-MB engineering & manufacturing development (EMD) phase."

Source: http://www.navair.navy.mil/index.cfm?fu ... ry&id=6673

[white_lightning35]

https://www.defenceconnect.com.au/strik ... -next-year

First full mission simulator in Australia.

[operaaperta]

First 3 SQN bird fresh out of the paintshop. A35-003

[spazsinbad]

Nice one - thanks for this.

[spazsinbad]

This article placed here because AUSTRALIAN - not ALIS restaurant - where ever that is - you can get anything you want..

DUBAI: Foreign F-35 partners work up interim solution for ALIS sovereignty concerns
12 Nov 2017 Leigh Giangreco

"Australia expects to field a mature solution to address sovereignty concerns prompted by Lockheed Martin’s autonomic logistics information system (ALIS) by 2020, the Royal Australian Air Force’s head of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme tells FlightGlobal.

Australia and other F-35 partners are close to developing a system that will segregate their aircraft from the normal flow of data going to ALIS, as well as separate facilities to develop their own mission data files to protect operational sovereignty....

...Each foreign F-35 partner is coming up with its own solution that will manage the flow of information between individual nations and industry, Air Vice Marshal Leigh Gordon said at the annual Dubai International Air Chiefs Conference this week.

“Ultimately, there will be a standard gateway off of the programme that we can all work with, but in the interim we’re thinking for each nation to bring a gateway along and have that integrated,” he tells FlightGlobal. “We expect the gateway will allow us to inspect and decide when information gets passed.”

While Australia plans to introduce the mature solution between its first F-35 delivery in 2018 and initial operational capability in 2020, the fielding timeline will vary by individual nation and depend on which communications networks they use, Gordon says.... [then info about Italy]

...Italy, like other F-35 partner nations, has established a "national laboratory" in co-operation with Norway at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The Norway Italy Reprogramming Laboratory manages mission data files in a segregated “Italian Eyes Only” environment, the spokeswoman says. Likewise Gordon says Australia is setting up a laboratory to manage its mission data files."

Source: https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... ti-443146/

[optimist]

aussies are going in with the UK (and Canada when they sign the order)

[spazsinbad]

Yep we got info on that in this thread AFAIK - search on ACURL

Go here for the beer: viewtopic.php?f=58&t=23043&p=376807&hilit=ACURL#p376807

SOME ACURL in other threads: viewtopic.php?f=58&t=24027&p=342072&hilit=ACURL#p342072
&
viewtopic.php?f=62&t=27067&p=306118&hilit=ACURL#p306118
&
GOOD ONE: viewtopic.php?f=62&t=27067&p=289515&hilit=ACURL#p289515
&
RAAF description: viewtopic.php?f=58&t=20532&p=233904&hilit=ACURL#p233904

[white_lightning35]

https://www.qt.com.au/news/american-bom ... y/3274223/

It's good to see more integration and operations among the allies. It would be even more fascinating in the mid-late 2020's when there are B-21's and lots of f-35's to go around. Perhaps it would lead to valuable training opportunities where the B-21's could show some of their good stuff away from the prying eyes of some the those at Red Flags, for instance.

[neptune]

....Australia and other F-35 partners are close to developing a system that will segregate their aircraft from the normal flow of data going to ALIS, ... separate facilities to develop their own mission data files to protect operational sovereignty....
.. The Norway Italy Reprogramming Laboratory manages mission data files in a segregated “Italian Eyes Only” environment, the spokeswoman says. Likewise Gordon says [size=130]Australia is setting up a laboratory to manage its mission data files...

....Gee!, I wonder if Israel is to sharing their "latest poop" with any of the partners, as well??

....so....now that is out of the way,...the maintenance aspect of ALIS is to be mutually beneficial from the statistical analysis of "all" of the parts and plans for cost and efficiency along the progression of the a/c types. Hopefully the data will still be sufficient to warrant the mutual efforts; the pints and quarts are to be minded even if they are Norwegian,Turkish or Korean!