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| Science & Technology |
| F-35 Problems: Late IOTE, F-35A Gun Inaccurate, F-35B Tires, Threat Data, Cyber… |
| 2018-02-01 |
| [Breaking Defense] WASHINGTON: Perhaps the most damning thing a director of Operational Test and Evaluation can say about a weapon is that it is not "operationally suitable." Here’s what the new DOTE, Robert Behler, says about the F-35 Joint Strike fighter in his office’s latest annual report: The operational suitability of the F-35 fleet remains below requirements and is dependent on work-arounds that would not meet Service expectations in combat situations (emphasis added). Over the previous year, most suitability metrics have remained nearly the same, or have moved only within narrow bands which are insufficient to characterize a change in performance. Overall fleet-wide monthly availability rates remain around 50 percent, a condition that has existed with no significant improvement since October 2014, despite the increasing number of new aircraft. One notable trend is an increase in the percentage of the fleet that cannot fly while awaiting replacement parts ‐ indicated by the Not Mission Capable due to Supply rate. Reliability growth has stagnated. It is unlikely that the program will achieve the JSF ORD (Operational Requirements Document) threshold requirements at maturity for the majority of reliability metrics. Most notably, the program is not likely to achieve the Mean Flight Hours Between Critical Failures threshold without redesigning aircraft components (emphasis added). While the majority of the testing done occurred before Behler was approved by the Senate, he says in his introduction to the annual report that he reviewed the contents ‐ and you can be sure he reviewed the F-35 information especially closely. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #12 Good isea Sock. I did hear they are upgrading the F-22 we have. The F-35 move was strictly a political decision I think by that idiot 110th Congress (The worst America ever had) |
| Posted by: newc 2018-02-01 18:34 |
| #11 Anecdotal information states the YF-23 was a superior aircraft to the F-22. So much so that they have permanently classified its top speed, which according to its program manager was "extremely fast." I'd vote for dusting off the YF-23 and then investing in an upgrade to the F-18. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2018-02-01 18:03 |
| #10 "Legit question: If this is as bad as it looks, what do we replace it with?" The F-22? |
| Posted by: newc 2018-02-01 17:30 |
| #9 Legit question: If this is as bad as it looks, what do we replace it with? |
| Posted by: Injun Bucket8891 2018-02-01 15:55 |
| #8 Reminds me of Porsche's German super tanks. To complicated to work in the field. |
| Posted by: Woodrow 2018-02-01 10:09 |
| #7 Like I have said all along, the guys running this program were like kids in a candy store with all of the shiny things and really neat techie things they decided they had to have on this aircraft. Its a flying iPhone and no one is talking about this computerized "wonder" being vulnerable to EMI jamming of critical components...how do you fly by wire when your flight control computer has been hacked or targeted by an EMI burst from a weaponized microwave oven or a satellite dish. I hope Mattis gives the bum's rush to these idiots who completely forgot what they were supposed to be providing to the military...an aircraft that shoots down the enemy and strafes ground targets... Oh lord, I can remember when I was called on the red carpet for having a low operational readiness for parts...command thought there was some issue with the lack of command supervision of how the equipment was used...oh come on man, those are freaking tanks and they are supposed to be able to take rough use... I think we need to dissolve these high ranking program offices and put together a bunch of pilots to design the next aircraft...isn't that how the F-18 was developed...after the Air Force said they didn't need guns on their new planes? |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2018-02-01 09:55 |
| #6 ooops, suppose to be a line through. aaaccckkkk. back to coffee. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2018-02-01 07:48 |
| #5 I had to take one of those for a test drive familiarization. Fundamental violation of the KISS principle. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2018-02-01 07:47 |
| #4 Gama Goat? Magpie, we're dating ourselves again, ha. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2018-02-01 02:40 |
| #3 Is the F-35 turning into the aerial version of the Gama Goat? An innovative concept that proved to be a nightmare in real life: ...complex articulated drivetrain made maintenance difficult (the lubrication order alone took around six hours). |
| Posted by: magpie 2018-02-01 02:39 |
| #2 F-35B Tires Ah, they don't need 'em, it's VTOL. Give it pogo sticks. |
| Posted by: gorb 2018-02-01 02:29 |
| #1 Can Musk shoot them into space? |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2018-02-01 00:43 |