Nah national interest is western propaganda and extremely surface level. Although they have the 1 pe 2 good articles from time to time.Bulgrian Military is part of a Russian propaganda network. They are only good for some exaggerated Russian news. Extremely biased against the West.
National Interest post articles about everything related to the military. They never stop. They are like me on this forum.
I just made 7 posts to 6 different people with 6 differing subjects on the same JF-17 thread. That's National Interest in a nutshell.
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning and F-22 'Raptor' : News & Discussion
- Thread starter Nick
- Start date
what are you on about? There is a constant hardware update planned every 10 years and more frequent software We are happy to update the F-35, the same as we update out other platforms. Would you like to google what we do?
RAAF jets have hit an upper limit even before the first major upgrade is due.
B4 requires 47 kW of cooling. B5-10 could go up to 80 kW. But RAAF jets can only get the upgrades necessary for B4. If RAAF want to go beyond that, the jet's gonna have to be taken apart for an upgraded cooling system, and that's not gonna happen until 20 years later. So around 2040-45. To top that off, since RAAF started getting jets way too early, quite a few of the early builds may not even be sufficiently qualified for 3F, never mind B4.
Otoh, a new customer, say the IAF, buys jets by 2025-26 or so then they get new airframes with up to 80 kW of cooling and new upgraded engines right off the bat. The IAF will not have to send the jets in for upgrades and rebuilds.
To make matters worse, while the RAAF gets stuck with the B4, the USAF is gonna continue building and inducting new F-35s, so they are always gonna stay on top while the RAAF stagnates. And this is the main reason why the IAF wants proven jets for import. Hence why I said it was not right of the US to push old jets into the hands of partners.
Now RAAF can buy a squadron of new F-35s to replace the SHs, but because of the B4 ceiling of the other 72, it doesn't make sense to operate two different configurations of the same type, especially when the F-35's global logistics chain has become difficult to sustain. Hence the interest in spending a bit more on a new type and going up the value chain instead.
Basically, the RAAF isn't in a good position.
Yes, what is proposed is roughly the modification that we had considered for the UAE when we did not yet know the excellent performance of the RBE2, the Rafale radar, and we were trying to gain 10% in range by improving heat extraction. It was proposed to change the cooling circuit pump, which made it possible to increase the peak power of the radar from 10 kW to 14 kW, which allowed a 10% gain in range. But by doing that we were using the margins of the cooling circuit which meant that we were then blocked.
In addition, my linked article focuses on the thermal fuel management system which is the most problematic, but it's not just that!
We already knew that to run Block 4 of the F-35 correctly, you needed Tech Refresh 3 or TR3. We know that TR3 includes software and hardware upgrades to improve displays, memory and computer processing power, we also know that this development increases power consumption and the need for cooling. Unfortunately the F-35 is a little short on electrical generation and cooling, which means that we are already above the initial specifications, particularly for cooling where the thermal management system takes more air than expected, which means operating the engine at excessive temperature which will wear it out prematurely. For electrical generation it is not much better since we learn that we cannot operate all the systems of block 4 at the same time due to its weakness.
It must be understood that the problem is due to a bad design, itself due to a bad specification, because in order of magnitude an electric generation of a fighter is peanuts in energy compared to what is available for the propulsion. That is to say that if it was well designed the thrust would be a little weaker but so insignificant that we would not even feel it in the performance.
So the US says to itself that if we improve the performance of the reactor by changing its core (it's easy because since the time the development of the F-35 has dragged on, there has been technological progress in this area) and If we make a new thermal management system to a good specification we should be able to solve the problem.
But for these modifications to be fully exploited, it is necessary to improve electrical generation, that is to say take more energy, which leads to a new gearbox, and a replacement of the electrical generator which will be part of an overall modification of the electrical power system. Likewise, the evolution of the thermal management system (the one which draws air from the engine) will be accompanied by an evolution of the fuel thermal management system.
So the modification is:
- Software upgrade
- Screens
- Memoirs
- Processors
- Reactor Core
- Gearbox
- Electric generation
- Thermal management system
- Thermal Fuel Management System
Oh yes, it will be necessary to retrofit more than 1000 F-35s, including Australia's 72.
At a modest $20M per jet, that's gonna be an extra $20B. India's entire space budget since its inception is less than that.
RAAF's share is $1.44B. India's entire LCA program as of 2020 was $1.47B.
But knowing Lock Mart, it could be double that.
There are more on the list. The number said is 80
I haven't seen that, do you have the link.
Typically, ripping a jet apart and putting it back together is 30% of the cost of the aircraft. So I've assumed a modest 25%. And a problem is the F-35 has not been designed for that.
Plus the EODAS and a new radar and new EW capabilities.
That is to say that block4 software is far from being writen and integrated. And it must be probably rethought due to all these new specifications on the electrical and thermal managments.
As always I have taken the fast facts from LM. As always these figures are homogenous and as always due to this least point I can compare every months.
The last month F-35 have made a particularly low level of hours (5000). But that doesn't mean that In january it won't the best month of all time changing all the tendancy.
Call it what you want, it's all to do with your ignorance anyway. Ripping a jet apart is one of the most expensive things there is in aircraft maintenance. And in your case, you are not just ripping it apart, but you are modernizing it.
Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO): Navigating the Skies of Aviation Industry.
The aviation industry is a marvel of modern engineering, enabling the rapid movement of people and goods across the globe. Behind the seamless operation of aircraft lies a complex web of maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) processes that ensure safety, efficiency, and reliability.
An overhaul is done every 10+ years.
Basic numbers:
A Su-30MKI is overhauled after flying 1,500 hours or 14 years, whichever is earlier. Over its total service life of 6,000 flying hours or 30-40 years, each fighter undergoes three overhauls. Eventually, the IAF's fleet of 272 Su-30MKIs will undergo 816 overhauls - three per fighter. HAL officials say overhauling in India costs far less than what "original equipment manufacturers" or OEMs, charge - typically 35-40 per cent of the cost of a brand new fighter. "OEMs usually price new fighters reasonably, but make their money by charging heavily for repair and overhaul. Establishing overhaul capability in India defeats this pricing strategy," says Wing Commander Neelu Khatri, a former IAF logistics specialist.
So I wasn't even exaggerating. Rather underestimating it.
Latest designs like the Rafale and F-35 eliminate this process. That's why it's done once in its life during MLUs. And MLUs are done anywhere between 20-30 years of the life of an aircraft. Some air forces opt for modest upgrades and forgo the MLU altogether.
So how old are the RAAF jets?
Yeah? And with the elimination of overhauls, the only real choice is to wait for MLUs. Or of course, you can always pay 35-40% of the cost for an overhaul, pay more for rebuilding the coolant pipes around 2030 and then repeat the process during the MLU in 2045.
Now you understand where LM is gonna make their money from. This is the reason why many air forces simply slowdown or stop flying their jets and then begin cannibalizing to save on costs.
You gotta get educated on this stuff. It's your taxpayer money.
Didn't you watch the video I posted earlier? Pako said the exact same thing regarding cooling problem(digging bigger holes et al). All in all, a completely fvcked up plane and program. Anyone advocating for F-35s in IAF is an enemy of India, IMO.
Ten years ago the forumers were already saying this and history has shown that they were wrong.
He only mentioned they would need bigger coolant pipes, not the values.
And, as per the article, the bigger pipes are only necessary for B5 and above, not B4. They mostly take care of it with new valves and pumps and of course an engine upgrade.
B4 to B5 transition with an internal rebuild is like an LCA Mk1 to Mk1A transition or even the older Mk2 transition with new engine, so there is hope now.
LM got their avionics specs wrong, but their airframe and engine specs were fine. Their final B4 avatar is probably what will be part of B5-10 as well, the radar, EODAS and EW suite.
So once the airframe and upgraded engine are standardized and optimized and the core avionics are ready, most of B5-10 will be plug and play upgrades.
Yes, but the current B4 objectives are not the same as the ones planned for 2021. They have been adding new capabilities ever since for the 2029 deadline, this includes a new radar, new EODAS, new EW suite antennas, upgraded engine etc. So many of those new problems are likely related.
Nope. The ECU is not sufficient for the B5 needs. Look at the power consumption. The B5 can't be ambitious due to the ECU choice.
Secondly there are a problem forgiven by every one. The cells become older and no one knows what it can give beyond 2000 hours. At the time when all the new stuff will arrived in 4 or 5 years at best, numerous cells will be beyond 2000 hours. The JPO would be lucky to discover no problem.
We don't know the scale of the upgrade. It's in the design phase and will be delivered in 2028. P&W expects to upgrade all delivered F135s in 2029 and 2030.
But if the upgrade is inadequate, then the B5 to may come with a new engine. Either an even more upgraded F135 or the AETP. There are three engine options.
GE's progressing with their F-35 engine. Look at the date.
GE's XA100 engine progresses as Congress weighs in on F-35
XA100 engine completes additional testing, marking a key step in its bid for inclusion in the F-35 programme amid Congressional discussions.
www.airforce-technology.com
GE hopes to put this engine into a production F-35 by 2028, so the same deadline.
A big order is coming up too.
F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter Low Rate Initial Production Lots...
On 8/2/23 Naval Air Systems Command issued Presolicitation JSF-PSLCT-23-0162 for F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter - Low Rate Initial Production Lots 20-24 due 9/1/23
www.highergov.com
This contract should announce the completion of the series production objectives.
What "cells" are you referring to? Translation issue?