Trump doesn't know cht when it comes to the F-35. This second engine talk is already dead and only dopes in forums are keeping the topic alive. It has moved on so should you.
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning and F-22 'Raptor' : News & Discussion
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We are more than ready for an 86 kN version of Kaveri. It's not sufficient to power the Mk2, but it can replace F404 entirely.
Post 1254. We have the materials.
And our cooling is well within our abilities (post 1260).
It won't arrive in time though. It's a minimum 10-year program.
Maybe. But what Trump said could all be poppycock to confuse his fans just to introduce a new jet that supercedes the F-35 entirely. That would make it even worse for the F-35.
Nah. Remember in 2016 Trump hated F-35 until LM and USAF told him the capabilities. What likely happened here is LM is butt hurt that it lost to Boeing so some LM associate who has the ear of the president, likely same guy in 2016, likely whispered in his ear about a 2 engine F-35 and how super cool it would be and Trump when he hears something he likes he lets everyone know. He doesn't have a filter. Look how quiet he's been and LM about some 2 engine F-35. Some USAF guy must have set him straight about what is needed and F-55 aint it!.
Talk about the F-55 is dead among USAF it's only kept alive in forums.
And yeah, Trump is dumb enough to announce it internationally in Qatar, instead of just tweeting about it as usual.
What Trump announced made it sound like the F-35 will be converted into an F-55. But what's really happened is the announcement for a new jet, very close to the F-35 in many ways with direct implementation of F-35 tech into the F-55.
More F-35s will be built to support the F-55, but it's naturally now secondary to the new jet. Think of it as a direct replacement of the F-22 but will perform the F-35's role too, which will impact the F-35's final numbers.
Announcing it in Qatar was a direct message to Iran and Russia, so it's real alright.
If they agree to manufacture it in India under MRFA with full TOT and Indian avionics, then we should definitely consider it in Block-4 version.
Anyone who has been following my posts here knows that I've been saying this for quite some time that MRFA would end up with becoming F-35 Block 4 vs Rafale F5. Let's see what we select!
I don't see an assembly line,
There won't be any TOT,
Like other nations, you can pay for what you want on top of the normal F-35, It still need to be able to work with other F-35 and not interfere with the operation
You still pay proportional per tail, to the updates development, whether you use them or not
Knowing Indian $paperbag procurement, it will be the F5, Even though whatever they say, the Rafale is already in the obsolete basket with the other 4th gen
I think partnering UK/Japan and Sth Korean projects would suit India better, Russia is still going to be a stumbling block
Partnering with France/Germany on the FCAS could be possible too, If it is still a thing in a few years, don't expect workshare, France always wants more than their share, Which killed the last time they had a fighter partnership, hence Rafale/eurofighter
There won't be any TOT,
Like other nations, you can pay for what you want on top of the normal F-35, It still need to be able to work with other F-35 and not interfere with the operation
You still pay proportional per tail, to the updates development, whether you use them or not
Knowing Indian $paperbag procurement, it will be the F5, Even though whatever they say, the Rafale is already in the obsolete basket with the other 4th gen
I think partnering UK/Japan and Sth Korean projects would suit India better, Russia is still going to be a stumbling block
Partnering with France/Germany on the FCAS could be possible too, If it is still a thing in a few years, don't expect workshare, France always wants more than their share, Which killed the last time they had a fighter partnership, hence Rafale/eurofighter
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I am pretty much certain even if they spoon feed us , we wont be able to absorb the tech. We need lot more private industry involvement, larger industry eco-system and investment, which we totally lack.
Looks like Uncle Sam wants its ransom in form of gov-to-gov deal of F-35s directly bypassing MRFA else they will keep all the engine deals in-hostage.
Who was the fool who selected GE engines when the French/Euro option was available is beyond me
Looks like Uncle Sam wants its ransom in form of gov-to-gov deal of F-35s directly bypassing MRFA else they will keep all the engine deals in-hostage.
Who was the fool who selected GE engines when the French/Euro option was available is beyond me
Three things have changed equations. Our stable relations with Russia post Ukraine war, the coup in BD, and the demonstration of our ability to fight China on our own via Op Sindoor.
This has shown the US that we do not need them outside of economic relations, hence all the diplomatic and economic pressures and roadblocks.
This F-35 thing is easy to block. We will just tell them to enter MRFA with it, if they say no, then we will tell them we will make a decision after MRFA. The end.
What We Just Learned A More Advanced "Ferrari" F-35 Could Include
Pilot optional capability, new coatings, and significant airframe changes could go into a 'fifth-gen-plus' F-35, but many questions remain.
www.twz.com
“The hardware is complete. It’s being produced at scale at L3Harris. The software integration with the aircraft is also complete, and so TR-3 has met its completion milestones. What’s going on now is that aircraft are being run through the factory with TR-3, plus the first hardware component, or one of the initial hardware components, of the Block 4 upgrade to the aircraft hardware,” he continued. “That piece of equipment is called a Distributed Aperture System, which is six apertures or antennas located around the aircraft that provide lots of sensing capabilities.”
“The holdup now is that the sensor set — a new piece of hardware and its own software and its own firmware — has to now integrate with the TR-3 aircraft, and that is a little bit behind schedule,” he added. “Once that catches up, we think by the end of this year, then all those aircraft that have been delivered will be combat-capable.”
Oh, look, finally the F-35 will be "combat-capable" at the end of the year. That uber-cool DAS will finally work as advertised in a few months.
And this is just TR-3. Next up comes Block 4 hardware and firmware.
I think he's quite optimistic to think that he's going to catch up given the history of F-35 delays!
He's forgetting that he also has to integrate Block 3F, which has been validated as closing the SDD phase, and the DAS was part of Block 3F. So it's fine to integrate it separately, but the best thing would be to integrate the whole of Block 3F. As for block 4, they need to develop it first before integrating it.
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I think he's quite optimistic to think that he's going to catch up given the history of F-35 delays!
The F-35 supporters cannot argue back anymore. LM's CEO himself came out and said the F-35 is not combat-capable today.
This is what the user says:
Pentagon Report: F-35 Test Progress Slow, Readiness Below Par
Testing and reliability of the F-35 remain below par, but the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation says progress is being made.
www.airandspaceforces.com
“Aircraft modifications, flight test instrumentation, [open-air battle shaping] capabilities, and stable software will all be required before dedicated operational testing can begin on the TR-3 aircraft with the capabilities already fielded on the TR-2 aircraft,” the report states, while noting that such testing might start sooner if modifications and software mature faster than expected.
So LM has to completely "deliver" the TR-3 hardware, then DOT&E will "test" it over the course of a year. And then they will have to start "fixing" the cooling problem before introducing the B4 hardware and software. Then DOT&E will have to test it again. Then they have to "upgrade" the engine. Then DOT&E will have to test it again. Then they will have to "introduce" the rest of B4 hardware and software. Then DOT&E will have to test it again. Then the "combat-capable" F-35 will come with "full warfighting capability." So simple. And after all that, there's still an addendum left, the full warfighting capability is not good enough against China.
And look, Taiclet has presented the list of patsies who will fund it.
It could take some time, but I think if we can work with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE...
There are “some countries that could see F-21 or F-16, for India, for example, as a stepping stone to F-35.”
Transpanancy, Don't you love it. You will never see anything from the French that isn't a sales pitch.The F-35 supporters cannot argue back anymore. LM's CEO himself came out and said the F-35 is not combat-capable today.
This is what the user says:
Tech Refresh-3 remains in developmental testing, even as jets are being delivered. The DOT&E office doesn’t believe operational testing can begin in earned until 2026, two years after deliveries started.Pentagon Report: F-35 Test Progress Slow, Readiness Below Par
Testing and reliability of the F-35 remain below par, but the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation says progress is being made.
“Aircraft modifications, flight test instrumentation, [open-air battle shaping] capabilities, and stable software will all be required before dedicated operational testing can begin on the TR-3 aircraft with the capabilities already fielded on the TR-2 aircraft,” the report states, while noting that such testing might start sooner if modifications and software mature faster than expected.
So LM has to completely "deliver" the TR-3 hardware, then DOT&E will "test" it over the course of a year. And then they will have to start "fixing" the cooling problem before introducing the B4 hardware and software. Then DOT&E will have to test it again. Then they have to "upgrade" the engine. Then DOT&E will have to test it again. Then they will have to "introduce" the rest of B4 hardware and software. Then DOT&E will have to test it again. Then the "combat-capable" F-35 will come with "full warfighting capability." So simple. And after all that, there's still an addendum left, the full warfighting capability is not good enough against China.
And look, Taiclet has presented the list of patsies who will fund it.
It could take some time, but I think if we can work with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE...
There are “some countries that could see F-21 or F-16, for India, for example, as a stepping stone to F-35.”
5th gen aircrat are hard and this is LM's second and the US 6th stealth jet.
But don't worry the newcommers going from 4th to 6th gen will get it right first shot.
It seems some of the data in the report is 5 years old
From your link, you should have kept readiing
"The JPO is also working to address so-called readiness “degraders” with some success.
“Over the past year, we have eliminated over 20 top readiness degraders,” the JPO reported, adding that “a small number of degraders mask tremendous progress that’s been made. That said, our overall readiness rates remain unacceptable “
The JPO did note that units have high mission capable rates when they’re deployed, largely because they take a generous supply of spares with them.
“It’s essential to invest in spares and repair capacity in a timely manner, as well as attack every other aspect of readiness with our stakeholders,” the JPO said.
Lockheed said it will invest $350 million over the next five years “to improve capabilities and drive efficiency across the F-35 enterprise. These investments will enhance fidelity and capacity across our development, integration, and test labs, ultimately enabling us to shift defect discovery to the left.”
The company said the F-35 has “demonstrated high combat and deployed readiness since data was collected for this report, in some cases more than five years ago” and that it is working with the JPO and its industry partners to “propose, recommend and implement improvements to F-35 readiness.”
The report noted that there’s been an uptick in quality defects and deficiencies not being detected during the F-35 checkout and delivery process and not being discovered until the jets are at their operational units, though many of these are “minor.”
Lockheed claimed, however, that “the information and data contained within the DOT&E report is dated and does not reflect the current status of the program. The F-35 program has an exceptional safety record, especially for a complex, global aircraft program that spans 20 nations.” Some of the “quality escapes” include “minor items such as an incorrect serial number on paperwork,” the company said. These are being addressed.
The DOT&E office said the F-35 also suffers from cyber deficiencies which are actively “under review” by the JPO in a deep-dive assessment. One of these relates to “aircraft mission systems instabilities” that can “degrade mission performance and may require a pilot-initiated reset of mission systems in-flight, which could have severe consequences during combat, affecting overall mission reliability.”
The Autonomic Logistics Information System that is meant to track F-35 data, predict part needs, and inform maintainers of each jet’s health “does not currently have the capability to automatically log these events in the Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS),” and pilots typically don’t manually log them in, the DOT&E said. The ALIS is being migrated to the Operational Data Integrated Network system.
The JPO said that over the last year, “we have conducted successful cybersecurity tests on ALIS/ODIN and continue to enhance our processes to stay ahead of emerging threats.” It noted that it has modernized and hardened its hardware and “enhanced [its] monitoring capabilities” for cyber vulnerabilities."
I wouldn't worry too much about the new DAS possibly not being ready till the end of the Year“TR-3 is a technology refreshment, a technology upgrade, from the prior F-35 core processor, which is basically the onboard server computer; a data storage unit, which is much more robust and can hold and process a lot more information; and then a pilot display generator that is the next generation, is more sophisticated, more capable,” Taiclet explained. Then there is “a software package, or firmware package, really, that integrates the core processor server, the data storage unit and the display, display generator, into the aircraft itself.”What We Just Learned A More Advanced "Ferrari" F-35 Could Include
Pilot optional capability, new coatings, and significant airframe changes could go into a 'fifth-gen-plus' F-35, but many questions remain.
“The hardware is complete. It’s being produced at scale at L3Harris. The software integration with the aircraft is also complete, and so TR-3 has met its completion milestones. What’s going on now is that aircraft are being run through the factory with TR-3, plus the first hardware component, or one of the initial hardware components, of the Block 4 upgrade to the aircraft hardware,” he continued. “That piece of equipment is called a Distributed Aperture System, which is six apertures or antennas located around the aircraft that provide lots of sensing capabilities.”
“The holdup now is that the sensor set — a new piece of hardware and its own software and its own firmware — has to now integrate with the TR-3 aircraft, and that is a little bit behind schedule,” he added. “Once that catches up, we think by the end of this year, then all those aircraft that have been delivered will be combat-capable.”
Oh, look, finally the F-35 will be "combat-capable" at the end of the year. That uber-cool DAS will finally work as advertised in a few months.
And this is just TR-3. Next up comes Block 4 hardware and firmware.
The have about 1,000 T2 flying, which are still the best aircraft you can buy,
The good news is once B4 is done, You can fuss over B5
I won't quote from the article about the 'Advanced Ferrari' with LM 6th gen tech from the competition fitted,
In the competitive bidding, it was a showdown between EJ200 and GE F414. GE was declared the L1 bidder, the F414 costing around $4mn apiece compared to $6mn for the EJ200 (give or take half a million, don't quote me on the figures). A rather straight-forward deal, if you'd ask me, even if it's turning out to be a massive stumbling block over the last couple of years, unfortunately.Who was the fool who selected GE engines when the French/Euro option was available is beyond me
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Transparency? Where is that in NGAD, F-15EX, B-21, F-16 B70 etc? Only the F-35 has transparency 'cause the program was so screwed up they had to repeatedly justify its existence. The same thing happened to the LCA. So we can see the obvious markers of a failed program. At least India has an excuse.
Others took an evolutionary approach. And more programs too. India has 3 5th gen avionics programs, 3 sensor fusion programs, and 3 6th gen avionics programs. All built on the success of the first sensor fusion program for MKI which integrated the radar with the EW suite, IRST, and MAWS, and with offboard systems like AWACS and ground radars a decade ago. The French too developed sensor fusion on M2000 in the 90s before taking on Rafale.
They are still working on problems they had identified 5 years ago. What's so special about that? Even 5 years later, we will still be discussing the same thing.
And look at that, the pilot needs to reset mission systems just to make whatever works work. That's a winner right there.
Dude... The LM CEO is saying the F-35 is not yet combat ready. You are still defending it?
It's ok, English is your second language, so I won't hold you to the obvious misunderstanding in what you read, I hope it's not deliberate
You won't get dot&e on NGAD, but you will on the F-15, F-16 and Fa-18
Here is the dot&e on the F-15ex
You won't get dot&e on NGAD, but you will on the F-15, F-16 and Fa-18
Here is the dot&e on the F-15ex
It's not combat ready says the Indian, but F-35 are being used in combat?
Delusional. It's has gotten worse this F-35 derangement syndrome since they lost 3 Rafales in air combat... well 3 claimed but definitely one visually conformed.