F-35 Block 4

[marauder2048]

JASSM came along.

I'm not sure JASSM had anything to do with the SEAD mission that is favored by USN for JSOW.

I was suggesting that JASSM is the reason that the AF stopped procuring JSOW.

The Navy's decision to skip JASSM/JASSM-ER defies reason.

[rheonomic]

The Navy's decision to skip JASSM/JASSM-ER defies reason.

I'd say most of what the Navy does defies reason.

[neptune]

JASSM came along.

I'm not sure JASSM had anything to do with the SEAD mission that is favored by USN for JSOW.

I was suggesting that JASSM is the reason that the AF stopped procuring JSOW.

The Navy's decision to skip JASSM/JASSM-ER defies reason.

....why focus USN development on JASSM when they are completing LRASM (JASSM+) for the SBug.
...the USAF is bringing JASSM to the F-35A/B/C, so both the planes being replaced (F-16/18) now have JASSM.
....will one size fit all, with UAI??

[marauder2048]

[
....why focus USN development on JASSM when they are completing LRASM (JASSM+) for the SBug.
...the USAF is bringing JASSM to the F-35A/B/C, so both the planes being replaced (F-16/18) now have JASSM.
....will one size fit all, with UAI??

JASSM-ER is ~ $1.2M/unit. LRASM is about $3M/unit.

On an unrelated (to JASSM) matter:

Not sure where to put this but it looks like JPO is considering
moving up the inclusion of Auto-GCAS. Block 4.1?

[Dragon029]

https://insidedefense.com/inside-navy/d ... next-month

Inside the Navy - November 20, 2017
DAB to consider new F-35 Block 4 plan next month
November 17, 2017 |
Courtney Albon Lee Hudson

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program expects to meet with Pentagon leadership in early December for approval of a new plan that will allow it to continuously develop software capabilities following completion of the post-system development and demonstration phase.

F-35 Program Executive Officer Vice Adm. Mat Winter told reporters in September he expected that approval to come in October.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Eric Fick, F-35 program deputy, told Inside Defense Nov. 15 that while the program expects approval for its new post-SDD strategy, the upcoming Defense Acquisition Board meeting is not solely focused on Block 4 follow-on modernization. It is part of the program's annual update with Pentagon acquisition executive Ellen Lord.

"It's giving her that look across the entire program, laying out the process that we intend to follow as we march forward in modernizing," he said.

The JPO will present a cost estimate for Block 4 during the DAB meeting, but an updated figure is being finalized as part of the fiscal year 2019 budget process, Fick said.

Inside Defense first reported in September the joint program office was adapting its strategy for post-SDD and follow-on modernization, a move that could change the way it develops and delivers new software capabilities. The new strategy would establish a bridge period between delivery of the final version of Block 3F software the program plans to release during development and the start of Block 4 follow-on modernization.

The program expects to deliver all Block 3F capabilities in "early 2018," Fick said. However, the software will have a number of known deficiencies that will not be addressed by the close of SDD next year. The bridge phase would allow the program time to address those deficiencies and incorporate fixes discovered during initial operational test and evaluation, which is slated to start early next year.

Congress has been waiting for months on the JPO to provide a detailed plan for Block 4. Under the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, the report was due in March.

In the FY-18 defense policy bill, which passed the House and Senate this week, lawmakers fence off 75 percent of Block 4 funding until the program provides the report, which likely won't be delivered until after the Pentagon approves the plan. -- Courtney Albon and Lee Hudson

[SpudmanWP]

F-35 may get Auto GCAS before official start of Block 4

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, CA -- The F-35 joint program office is considering outfitting the aircraft with an Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System prior to the start of Block 4 modernization. Auto GCAS had been envisioned as part of the service's Block 4 follow-on modernization effort, but Lt. Col. Tucker Hamilton, commander of the 462st Flight Test Squadron, told Inside Defense the program is considering installing the upgrade prior to the start of Block 4 as part of its...

Paywall: https://insidedefense.com/daily-news/f-35-may-get-auto-gcas-official-start-block-4

[rheonomic]

Wouldn't be surprised if AutoGCAS makes it into an OFP before Block 4.

[alloycowboy]

Pentagon’s weapons tester slams new F-35 modernization plan as unrealistic

WASHINGTON — The F-35 program office plans to close out the joint strike fighter’s development phase this year and begin moving into modernization, but it could face an uphill battle, the Pentagon’s head of weapons testing warned in a report released Wednesday.

The F-35 Joint Program Office has known since 2016 that it likely wouldn’t be able to make its October 2017 goal post for wrapping up developmental test flights, instead estimating it would take until February or even May of this year to finish those tests and end the system development and demonstration, or SDD, phase.

That means initial operational test and evaluation, or IOT&E — the last milestone before full-rate production starts — won’t be able to begin until late 2018, Robert Behler, the Defense Department’s new director of operational test and evaluation, said in his office’s annual report.

(more at the jump)

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/01 ... realistic/

[quicksilver]

Institutionally, the testing bureaucracies are always going to argue for more testing. The reality that few will voice is that the "traditional" positions they argue for are increasingly a liability when it comes to the general idea of 'speeding capabilities to the warfighter.'

DoD has fewer and fewer procurement programs to pay into the working capital accounts that many of these bureaucracies live on. Thus, the 'taxations' (my word) imposed on those programs that remain, start to become onerous. The wailing has only just begun...

[Dragon029]

https://insidedefense.com/insider/f-35- ... er-planned

F-35 steering board approves plan to field Auto GCAS sooner than planned
January 30, 2018 | Courtney Albon

The F-35 joint program office announced today it has approved a plan to install automatic ground collision avoidance software on the Joint Strike Fighter five years ahead of its original schedule.

Inside Defense first reported in December the program office was awaiting a decision from the configuration steering board to finalize the plan.

In a Jan. 30 press release, F-35 Program Executive Officer Vice Adm. Mat Winter said the program plans to field the new technology by 2019.

The program had expected to incorporate Auto GCAS during its Block 4 Follow-on Modernization phase. However, as part of its new Continuous Capability Development and Delivery effort, the program is looking to incorporate new capabilities, like Auto GCAS, as well as fixes to already fielded software.

[rheonomic]

AutoGCAS integration onto most of the tacair fleet should be a priority. CFIT needs to become a thing of the past.

[spazsinbad]

F-35 Program Office Moves Up Implementation of Automatic Anti-Collision Avoidance System
31 Jan 2018 Brian Everstine​

"​The F-35 Joint Program Office announced it will implement anti-ground collision software into the fleet five years earlier than planned.

Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto-GCAS) software, which was developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory, was first installed in F-16s in 2014, according to a program office release. Since then, “seven pilots and six F-16 aircraft” have reportedly been saved by the system, causing the JPO to place “a premium” on speedy implementation.

“Expediting this lifesaving technology into the F-35 fleet by 2019 is estimated to prevent the loss of three aircraft, and more importantly, save the lives of three pilots,” F-35 Program Executive Vice Adm. Mat Winter said in a news release. “Over the service life of the F-35 fleet, having Auto-GCAS is estimated to prevent more than 26 ground collisions from happening.”

The F-35 fleet is currently equipped with a manual ground control avoidance system, which requires a pilot to be able to see and hear the system prompting manual control to fly away from the ground. This system is not effective if a pilot is spatially disoriented or incapacitated.

The new system is designed to determine when impact with the ground is imminent, and automatically maneuver by initiating a 5-G pull to recover. The software uses GPS position and system altitude, compared to an onboard Digital Terrain Database...."

Source: http://www.airforcemag.com/Features/Pag ... ystem.aspx

[spazsinbad]

More or less same info but from the JPO via LM PR: https://www.f35.com/news/detail/f-35-to ... nce-system

[quicksilver]

Aiui, operators pushed this left. F-16 implementation technical baseline, NRE paid by LM.

[spazsinbad]

New Software Will Prevent F-35 Pilots from Flying into the Ground
02 Feb 2018 Hope Hodge Seck

"Even experienced fighter pilots are at risk of a phenomenon known as Controlled Flight Into Terrain, or CFIT. In 2016, it claimed the life of Marine Maj. Richard "Sterling" Norton during F/A-18 Hornet training at 29 Palms, California. Bottom line: When you're multitasking in mid-air at speeds of up to 1,000 miles per hour, it's easy to get disoriented....

https://www.military.com/daily-news/201 ... g-run.html

...When a crash is imminent, the system warns the pilot to prompt a recovery maneuver. But if no action is taken, Auto-GCAS will take over, righting the aircraft and executing a 5-G pull to get the plane safely off its collision course. Only after the threat has been avoided does the system hand controls back to the pilot....

...Officials with the Joint Program Office did not immediately provide responses to Military.com questions about which aircraft squadrons or which variant would be the first to receive Auto-GCAS. But it's supposed to be installed across the fleet by 2019.

The program executive officer for the F-35, Vice Adm. Mat Winter, said officials estimate expediting the technology, given existing statistics, will save three aircraft and three pilots. "Our acquisition team is working with the warfighters to ensure Auto-GCAS is in every F-35," Winter said in a statement. "... Over the service life of the F-35 fleet, having Auto-GCAS is estimated to prevent more than 26 ground collisions from happening.""

Source: https://www.military.com/defensetech/20 ... round.html