F-35 program status udpate

F-35 program status update.

2B is everything. It is the hurdle.

For now.

What kind of combat manuals will operational testers produce from 2B? What true value? Will USMC IOC be a gimmick or will it produce something a joint combat commander wants? For example, helping out in Eastern Europe, or the hot spots in the Pacific? When will the F-35B be ready for a sea cruise as opposed to a simple, long, runway?

Austere airfield ops?

ALIS (the main maintenance software) being another question mark.

"The SDD fleet achieving more than 150 flights in one month speaks to the quality of this aircraft and the commitment of this team," said J.D. McFarlan, Lockheed Martin's vice president for F-35 Test & Verification. "We're nearly complete with Block 2B software flight science testing on the F-35As, and we'll move forward with Block 3 software testing this summer. The SDD program is scheduled to complete Block 2B testing for the F-35B this year in support of the U.S. Marine Corps' Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in 2015 with its F-35B fleet."

Note the press release stated "Block 3".

Very clever marketing-speak. Which Block 3? The first part, Block 3I is just a 2B that runs on the newer computer/combat system hardware (known as TR-2) that comes with LRIP-6 jets and up. LRIP-5 and below need a refurb to run any Block 3 software.


(click image to make larger)

Software also limits the flight envelop.

Lots of money for not much combat power.


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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)
-A look at the F-35 program's astro-turfing
-F-35 and F-16 cost per flying hour
-Is this aircraft worth over $51B of USMC tac-air funding?
-Combat radius and altitude, A model
-F-35A, noise abatement and airfields and the USAF
-Deceptive marketing practice: F-35 blocks
-The concurrency fraud
-The dung beetle's "it's known" lie
-F-35's air-to-air ability limited
-F-35 Blocks--2006 and today
-The F-35B design is leaking fuel



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