Australian lawmakers confident in F-35's future

SpudmanWP · by **SpudmanWP** » 21 Sep 2017, 07:13

element1loop wrote:I hope they can program and test kit like that, outside of block upgrade.

That's what UAI is for.. coming Block 4 (don't know which one).

spazsinbad · by **spazsinbad** » 23 Sep 2017, 06:43

Dragon029 · by **Dragon029** » 23 Sep 2017, 06:48

Anyone else catch Lockheed's expressed (and realistically valid) confidence that they'll win Belgium's competition at 1:07?

white_lightning35 · by **white_lightning35** » 23 Sep 2017, 17:32

I don't comprende how the f-35 can't win, excluding politics. By the time the Belgianese get their fighters, block 4 enhancements will be well under way. I can't see what advantages the typhoon will have, except maybe wvr. Certainly not stealth, avionics, range, A2G, A2A, and cost. What else is there?

Perhaps if it was just the US buying it, one wouldn't be sure about the plane, because the USAF would have no choice. But there are 11 partner nations involved in the program, probably with many more to come, and many of those nation's pilots are maybe even more enthusiastic about the plane. That speaks volumes in itself. The Lightning will be the mainstay of the West's air forces for a long time, and I saw a quote on the interwebs speaking about this. One common platform, whose first name is Joint, will bigly :mrgreen:

enhance joint and coalition operations as a whole, an invaluable asset especially in this century.

mrbuno · by **mrbuno** » 24 Sep 2017, 00:19

Dragon029 wrote:Anyone else catch Lockheed's expressed (and realistically valid) confidence that they'll win Belgium's competition at 1:07?

And did they put the Dutch roundel on Denmark instead of on the Netherlands and they just forgot Denmark? At 1:05.

spazsinbad · by **spazsinbad** » 03 Oct 2017, 00:29

US clears $815M sale of F-35 weapons for Australia
02 Oct 2017 Aaron Mehta

"WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department has cleared a potential sale of weapons to Australia to augment that country’s future procurement of the F-35A joint strike fighter.

The deal primarily centers around selling the GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb Increment II, or SDB II, to Australia, potentially worth $815 million. All such announcements are notifications to Congress that the State Department is okay with selling the weapons and not an indication of a final deal.

The proposed sale would cover up to 3,900 GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb Increment II, up to 30 GBU-53/B Guided Test Vehicles (GTV) and up to 60 GBU-53/B Captive Carry Reliability Trainers (CCRT). Also included would be maintenance, transportation and support for the weapons....

...DSCA said it alerted Congress of the potential sale on Sept. 29, making it the final DSCA alter of fiscal year 2017, which had already set a record of $68.6 billion in arms announcements cleared by the State Department."

Source: https://www.defensenews.com/global/2017 ... australia/

white_lightning35 · by **white_lightning35** » 03 Oct 2017, 02:32

Great googily moogily, what are you Aussies planning to do with all those SDB's? :shock:

Suspicious...

steve2267 · by **steve2267** » 03 Oct 2017, 02:35

If a shootin' war breaks out somewhere... 3900 doesn't seem like very many...

popcorn · by **popcorn** » 03 Oct 2017, 05:27

steve2267 wrote:If a shootin' war breaks out somewhere... 3900 doesn't seem like very many...

What foe would even merit that quantity?

south · by **south** » 03 Oct 2017, 06:55

popcorn wrote:
steve2267 wrote:If a shootin' war breaks out somewhere... 3900 doesn't seem like very many...

What foe would even merit that quantity?

Given the RAAF are employing about 100 weapons a month against IS, you can see how quickly a weapon stock can dwindle. Now imagine a fulll up shooting match...

Note that does not include routine training, exercises, etc

hornetfinn · by **hornetfinn** » 03 Oct 2017, 09:47

south wrote:
popcorn wrote:
steve2267 wrote:If a shootin' war breaks out somewhere... 3900 doesn't seem like very many...

What foe would even merit that quantity?

Given the RAAF are employing about 100 weapons a month against IS, you can see how quickly a weapon stock can dwindle. Now imagine a fulll up shooting match...

Note that does not include routine training, exercises, etc

Sure, but this will be only part of overall inventory. Also more weapons could be bought in other batches. 3900 SDB 2:s is pretty large number compared to anyone else besides USAF. Even USAF is not buying that many of these weapons as they are pretty expensive.

Dragon029 · by **Dragon029** » 03 Oct 2017, 11:36

Don't tell the birds this, but we're preparing for the second Emu War.

south · by **south** » 03 Oct 2017, 12:47

hornetfinn wrote:
south wrote:Given the RAAF are employing about 100 weapons a month against IS, you can see how quickly a weapon stock can dwindle. Now imagine a fulll up shooting match...

Note that does not include routine training, exercises, etc

Sure, but this will be only part of overall inventory. Also more weapons could be bought in other batches. 3900 SDB 2:s is pretty large number compared to anyone else besides USAF. Even USAF is not buying that many of these weapons as they are pretty expensive.

The release quite clearly says “up to 3900”. It is highly likely the number procured will be significantly less with options for more if required.

viper12 · by **viper12** » 03 Oct 2017, 13:53

Dragon029 wrote:Don't tell the birds this, but we're preparing for the second Emu War.

How many SDB hits to kill one emu ? :twisted:

bigjku · by **bigjku** » 03 Oct 2017, 16:44

viper12 wrote:
Dragon029 wrote:Don't tell the birds this, but we're preparing for the second Emu War.

How many SDB hits to kill one emu ?

Let’s be honest... Gilmore says the F-35 is not yet certified operationally to kill emus and cites 42 different Emu killing deficiencies that have not yet been conclusively tested out by DOTE. Buying the planes at this point to kill Emu’s exposes you to concurrency risk.