Saturday, March 3, 2012

Pentagon Slackens Difficult-To-Achieve F-35 Performance Requirements

Via Inside Defense (subscription). Some of us kind of knew this was going on. Now it is becoming more widely known:

Pentagon Slackens Difficult-To-Achieve JSF Performance Requirements

The Pentagon last month relaxed the performance requirements for the Joint Strike Fighter, allowing the Air Force F-35A variant to exceed its previous combat radius -- a benchmark it previously missed -- and granting the Marine Corps F-35B nearly 10 percent additional runway length for short take-offs, according to Defense Department sources.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ah, the good old rubber baseline. Another one of those concurrency risks.

-mike j

Canuck Fighter said...

I remember when I was a rookie engineer, my VP once said to us..."We have our standards, but we can always change them."

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm...So, does this cascade into a shipboard takeoff gross weight restriction that affects range/payload?

Anonymous said...

Anyone know what max G the F-35 is authorized to fly? I heard max 3.5 G sometime ago, but am not sure if there is any publicly announced higher G authorization or testing being conducted? Thanks.

Anonymous said...

The G limits for the JSF variants is rated at +9.

Peter

Anonymous said...

Since this thread is about the F-35B, limit g's are 7, at a specified weight, in the neighborhood of 41,600 lbs.

Cocidius said...

10% longer runway length combined with documented faster then expected landing speeds (severe/dangerous tire wear), combined with the removal of the dry bay fire extinguishing system.

All add up to an aircraft that's still struggling with weight with textbook examples of a fighter at or above it's design MTOW.

Maybe time for another expensive SWAT?

I'm looking forward to seeing the F-35B fully loaded operating in hot climates attempting to return with fuel and weapons and trying vertical landings. TRYING is the key word!