Put the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter on the DMO Project of Concern List--Today

Good risk analysis can hold the test of time.

This work (PDF) which identified the F-35 program as extreme risk over 3 years ago isn't all that much different from a recent effort.

The message is the same with some updated information.

Australia has officially...officially put their air combat capability road map into the ditch by authorizing money for production of the first poorly designed F-35 mistake-jets for the RAAF.

U.S. Department of Defense contract awards for Low Rate Initial Production batch 6 (aka "LRIP-6) F-35 quantities may vary some with the winds of U.S. Congress but not too long ago it was supposed to include 18 F-35As for USAF, 6 F-35Bs for the Marine Corps and 7 F-35Cs for the Navy. Also included are 3 F-35As for Italy and 2 for Australia.

Now, big time, the dysfunctional Defence Material Organisation (DMO), owns the program like never before.

Owns it.

Wears it.

Here is what Australia will get with delivery of its' first two F-35s:

Good news would be LRIP-6 is the first batch with TR-2 hardware driving Block 3 software. Everything before LRIP-6 is even more of a mistake-jet.

What else? These two aircraft will have unknown fatigue issues. Software will be woefully unready. Weapons clearance will be limited. Operational testing (like developmental testing) will still be rated as behind. It is unlikely that the helmet sighting system will deliver on the promise. With out this, you have no useful weapons capability. The aircraft will be performance and G-limited due to increased weight. Fasteners that hold parts of the jet together will still be more vulnerable to lightning than other aircraft designs. Fuel inerting issues will still exist because of the design. The F-35 will be a fire-trap to enemy combat damage. It will be three-times as expensive to fly per hour than the aircraft it replaces. It will have limited aspect U.S. export-friendly stealth. It will have severe thermal issues. That is, it will have problems shedding heat it produces.

Fortunately, Australia never uses combat aircraft where it is hot.

The F-35 will have poor mission-ready rates. The maintenance for it will be managed mostly by a foreign entity. Australian "skilling" will be screw-driver-turning and warehousing.

It will not be able to take on emerging threats.

This means, it will not be able to defend Australian airspace; or any other airspace.

None of this can be improved by ordering more after the initial 2 failures.

In total, these issues, more than qualify the extreme-risk F-35 Joint Strike Fighter for the DMO Project of Concern List.

Today.


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-Time's Battleland - 5 Part series on F-35 procurement - 2013 
-Summary of Air Power Australia F-35 points
-Aviation Week (ARES blog) F-35 posts (2007 to present)
-U.S. Government Accounting Office (GAO) F-35 reports
-F-35 JSF: Cold War Anachronism Without a Mission
-History of F-35 Production Cuts
-Looking at the three Japan contenders (maneuverability)
-How the Canadian DND misleads the public about the F-35
-Value of STOVL F-35B over-hyped
-Cuckoo in the nest--U.S. DOD DOT&E F-35 report is out
-6 Feb 2012 Letter from SASC to DOD boss Panetta questioning the decision to lift probation on the F-35B STOVL.
-USAFs F-35 procurement plan is not believable
-December 2011 Australia/Canada Brief
-F-35 Key Performance Perimeters (KPP) and Feb 2012 CRS report
-F-35 DOD Select Acquisition Report (SAR) FY2012
-Release of F-35 2012 test report card shows continued waste on a dud program
-Australian Defence answers serious F-35 project concerns with "so what?"
-Land of the Lost (production cut history update March 2013)
-Outgoing LM F-35 program boss admits to flawed weight assumptions (March 2013)


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