Dutch MoD choose definitely for F-35

[krorvik]

"Bartender, there's a little too much foam on my heineken$."

*chuckle*

[spazsinbad]

'The DRIVE[ing some insane]' has some comment about the 'foam event' which includes usual FUD Fear Uncertainty Doubt:

Whoops! First F-35A Based In The Netherlands Got A Foam Bath By Mistake
31 Oct 2019 Joseph Trevithick

"...It's not clear what this might mean for the aircraft, which ingested some of the foam into the engine intakes and the engine itself, as it taxied to the ceremony area after the impromptu foam party. Reports regarding past military aviation mishaps involving the accidental release of firefighting foam onto aircraft in hangars typically say that firefighting crews later used water to wash it away without any mention of serious lasting effects. Whether that applies to stealthy aircraft, such as the F-35, which have very sensitive external features, especially the specialized radar-absorbing coatings that cover their skin, is unclear...."

Source: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/3 ... by-mistake

[botsing]

It seems that the foam used is suspect for causing corrosion, so this lovely new plane will now get a close inspection due to this unfortunate shower.

A nice quote however about the F-35 itself (roughly translated from Dutch to English):

"Holy cr*p! For a moment I felt like that teenager on a super cool skateboard in Florida. This plane moves like a rocket."

(“Holy cr*p! Even voel ik me die tiener op een heel vet skateboard in Florida. Dit toestel gaat als een raket.”)

[spazsinbad]

It seems that the foam used is suspect for causing corrosion, so this lovely new plane will now get a close inspection due to this unfortunate shower.
A nice quote however about the F-35 itself (roughly translated from Dutch to English):

"Holy cr*p! For a moment I felt like that teenager on a super cool skateboard in Florida. This plane moves like a rocket."
(“Holy cr*p! Even voel ik me die tiener op een heel vet skateboard in Florida. Dit toestel gaat als een raket.”)

Thanks - please keep us uptodate on any new developments about this 'F-35A corrosive foam event'.

[doge]

Additional videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaDs9-Z3bew

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz2M-QTvJZQ


Star Wars Canyon RNLAF F-35
It's flying pretty very very fast between the valleys! (Scary! )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feMiVo15YBQ

[krorvik]

Thanks - please keep us uptodate on any new developments about this 'F-35A corrosive foam event'.

Seems like they don't consider it a problem, according to tu.no:

"However, there is little cause for concern, according to input Technical Weekly has received from F-35 technicians. Neither aircraft nor engine is damaged by such a foam bath, but it needs a good wash and maybe clean. So is the F-16. This is not the first time a fighter plane has been foamed, it has also happened here in the country, but it costs only a little extra work."

https://translate.google.com/translate? ... t%2F478127

[spazsinbad]

OK thanks. 'Good' foam must have been used rather than the 'old corrosive/toxic' foam. Good to know.

[jetblast16]

Offline
Additional videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaDs9-Z3bew

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz2M-QTvJZQ


Star Wars Canyon RNLAF F-35
It's flying pretty very very fast between the valleys! (Scary! )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feMiVo15YBQ

Phenomenal! I think that's the fastest I've ever seen a jet pass through that canyon; crazy.

[spazsinbad]

OK thanks. 'Good' foam must have been used rather than the 'old corrosive/toxic' foam. Good to know.

Latest news on how to get rid of the very bad side effects of the old 'toxic' foam - clues about old news in article:

The Defense Department May Have Found a Fix for Contaminated Water on Bases 07 Nov 2019 Oriana Pawlyk
https://www.military.com/daily-news/201 ... bases.html

[krieger22]

The RNLAF has stated to NOS that F-009 has been inspected and found to be unaffected by the foam

https://amp.nos.nl/artikel/2310447-defe ... ssion=true

[spazsinbad]

Thanks for the info: Translated by GOOGLE

Defense: F-35 does not seem to have had anything to do with a fire-fighting foam mistake
15 Nov 2019 NOS

"The new F-35 fighter plane that was accidentally received at the end of last month with fire-fighting foam instead of water, seems to have suffered no damage. That is what the Royal Netherlands Air Force says after an inspection of the aircraft.

On October 31, the first F-35 in the Netherlands was sprayed by human error with fire-fighting foam at Leeuwarden air base. "In the fire extinguishers the buttons for foam and water are next to each other, and the fire brigade accidentally pressed the foam button," says an air force spokesperson.

It was feared that the engines of the F-35, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter, had been damaged. That is why photos were sent to the builders of the aircraft. "You can compare it to a viewing operation on the inside," says the spokesperson.

The images were then sent to engine builder Pratt & Whitney. "We have the doctors in-house, but the professors are with Pratt & Whitney," said the Air Force spokesperson. "They indicated that the foam did not cause any malfunctions."

For safety's sake, however, the engines are thoroughly rinsed again. The F-35 will remain on the ground for the time being, but that is according to plan. It is intended that the aircraft will be operational again soon.

Source: https://amp.nos.nl/artikel/2310447-defe ... chuim.html

[mixelflick]

A nice quote however about the F-35 itself (roughly translated from Dutch to English):
[quote]"Holy cr*p! For a moment I felt like that teenager on a super cool skateboard in Florida. This plane moves like a rocket."

This is all the moreso impressive, if this guy is coming from flying an F-16!

[ricnunes]

A nice quote however about the F-35 itself (roughly translated from Dutch to English):
"Holy cr*p! For a moment I felt like that teenager on a super cool skateboard in Florida. This plane moves like a rocket."

This is all the moreso impressive, if this guy is coming from flying an F-16!

Absolutely!

This was actually one of my point on the Rafale thread:
- When I read that I pilot coming from a Super Etendard says that he feels that the Rafale is like a rocket/spaceship/whatever that doesn't impress me much (independently if the Rafale has an impressive performance) because compared to the Super Etendard there are countless rocket-like fighter aircraft out there. But a pilot coming from a F-16 saying that the F-35 is like a rocket it's actually very impressive and certainly gets my attention since the F-16 is one and still one of worlds best fighter aircraft when it comes to acceleration (which afterall is the "metric" that is being mentioned here).

[Corsair1963]

Minister Bijleveld: the extra F-35s have been ordered, so they are not in danger


The Ministry of Defense's nine additional F-35 aircraft are not endangered. The planes have now been ordered.


Defense Minister Ank Bijleveld emphasized this in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. Due to the economic crisis, extra expenditure at the ministry is under pressure. The fighter jets are therefore not included.



Defense promised to increase investment considerably. The Netherlands is at the bottom of the list of NATO countries. That came to us in 2018 and 2019 with strong criticism from the NATO summit and from the United States; In 2014, due to the growing threat from Russia, NATO had agreed that the individual countries would invest more in their armed forces.

The Netherlands promised to increase the expenditure budget step by step to 2 percent of the gross domestic product. This milestone was intended to be reached in 2024. The latter does not seem to succeed, Bijleveld said in the House of Representatives in response to questions from the SGP.

Promised investments in submarines and jet fighters continue. The nine jet fighters for the Volkel and Leeuwarden bases have been ordered. The fleet thus grows to 46 new fighter aircraft. The first landed in Leeuwarden at the end of October.


After the summer, it will be announced which planned Defense expenditure will die because of the crisis.

https://www.lc.nl/friesland/Minister-Bi ... DfqCh7BmOe

[Corsair1963]

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Demonstrates Enhanced Interoperability with Initial Coalition Mission Data (CMDx) Flight Tests

NAVAL AIR WEAPONS STATION CHINA LAKE, Calif. - F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter pilots from the U.S. and The Netherlands took to the air here Aug. 13-14 to demonstrate a new level of interoperability aimed at improving future combat data sharing among the U.S. Services, F-35 program international Cooperative Partners and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers.

Commonly referred to as CMDx, coalition mission data is a concept that provides all operating participants with an equivalent source of data that ensures a common operating picture across a large multi-national force of F-35s. Essentially, CMDx will provide coalition air component commanders the assurance that all assets are seeing the same thing at the same time.

This concept also affords commanders the ability to operate a mixture of F-35s regardless of variant or nationality. Additionally, because CMDx operates from the same data source, situational awareness and combat identification are significantly improved.

“We need to think differently across the F-35 Enterprise about how we provide high-quality mission data to our coalition partners so that we can optimize the common operating picture they demand, while reducing the costs associated with producing unique mission data sets for an expanding customer base,” said F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) Executive Officer, Lt. Gen. Eric Fick. “The demonstration is paving the way for a new level of combat effectiveness and affordability in the reprogramming arena.”

Operational test pilots from the F-35 Joint Operational Test Team (JOTT) at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., worked alongside operational pilots at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the new concept over a China Lake test range. The pilots, supported by a host of mission planners and engineers from across the F-35 enterprise, planned and executed a series of flights using two U.S. and two Dutch F-35s operating with the same mission data.

The flight test evaluations were designed to show that each pilot could receive the same common operating picture both on and off board. Although final analysis is still being conducted, initial feedback from the flight tests indicates the new concept was a success.

Following final review and full analysis of the flight test data, the F-35 JPO’s Combat Data Systems (CDS) Program Management Office (PMO) will continue working to provide U.S. and foreign F-35 warfighters with the option of using CMDx to enhance coalition operations. The CDS PMO is responsible for delivering F-35 reprogramming and mission planning capability to F-35 warfighters worldwide.

The team is looking not only to enhance interoperability with the new concept, but also to reduce the cost of generating country-specific files in support of the aircraft’s increasing customer demand with nations needing mission data files to support multiple areas of responsibility (AORs), and a growing number of F-35 configurations.

The F-35 Lightning II is a 5th generation fighter known for its advanced sensor suite that is highly integrated via ‘fusion’ capabilities, which provide pilots with high confidence situational awareness and combat identification, in addition to the common operating picture. Key to optimizing these capabilities is a combination of robust data links that enable information exchange and access to common mission data. Often described as the brains of the airplane, the mission data files are extensive on-board data systems compiling information from the environment, determining ‘friend from foe’ in areas where the F-35 is expected to perform peacetime and combat operations.

“Situational Awareness is crucial in our 5th generation fighters, but common situational awareness is even more important,” said Lt. Col. G.B. van Woerden, Royal Netherlands Air Force Senior National Representative (SNR) to the F-35 Training Detachment with the 308th Fighter Squadron at Luke, who flew in the demonstration. “The coalition Mission Data File brings us a shared common picture, which we can all use for our warfighting capability in future conflicts. As a Dutch pilot, I am proud to have participated in this test to increase our interoperability amongst all partners in the F-35 enterprise.”

Today, the U.S. F-35 fleet operates harmoniously through both robust data links and common mission data. However, introduce non-U.S. F-35s during coalition operations and the common operating picture can become disharmonious, leading to pilot confusion and poor decision making. The F-35 JPO’s Combat Data Systems team recognized this scenario and initiated engagement with key decision makers to break down legacy policy barriers. Working closely with the U.S. services’ mission data programming community and other stakeholders, the JPO led this CMDx demonstration to show how the common operating picture could be optimized during future coalition operations.

Maj. Alex Esson, a U.S. F-35 pilot with Luke’s 944th Fighter Wing also worked with the F-35 JOTT to plan the four-ship and flew in the demo. According to Esson, the F-35 is finally breaking the mold and converting to an ‘integration is the standard’ mindset.

“For a long time, most countries have executed with an ‘integration by exception’ thought process and policy viewpoint,” said Esson. “Coalition MDx and common MADL [Multifunction Advanced Data Link] keys across the F-35 enterprise are a huge step in the right direction and allow all of us to properly integrate in a coalition environment. While there is still much work to be done, the trust and tactical experience gained when all F-35s in a fight share the same common picture will be invaluable to our individual countries’ wartime capability.”


https://www.dvidshub.net/news/376510/f- ... ight-tests