The Marine Corps’ F-35B Lightning II strike fighter will go through its first operational test at sea before its scheduled initial operational capability (IOC) in July.
Note, without any hard and continuous air exercises including Red Flag.
The short-takeoff/vertical-landing F-35B will go through Operational Test -1 onboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp this spring, said Lorraine Martin, executive vice president and general manager of the F-35 program for Lockheed Martin, the builder of the F-35.
Again, without any hard and continuous air exercises, like Red Flag.
Before the first operational F-35B squadron, Marine Fighter-Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA-121), is ready, the Block 2B software for the F-35B needs to be certified for fleet release. The F-35 test team is conducting final weapons separation tests for the Block 2B software.
Kind of late in the game for that, given there will not be any time for hard and continuous air exercises, like Red Flag.
The regional mapping component of the software for the squadron’s upcoming deployment to Japan still is being finalized, Martin said.
Pretty late for that too.
The primary mission of VMFA-121 at IOC will be day and night close air support.
If you define day and night "close air support" as a term and not a real, credible activity.
Eight of VMFA-121’s F-35Bs have received upgrades, including lightning protection, from the Fleet Readiness Center at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. Two others are receiving the upgrades at the Air Logistics Center at Hill Air Force Base in Ogden, Utah.
Lighting problems were: fuel-inerting capacity, fasteners ...lots of fasteners... and avionics robustness and aircraft survivability in-general not unlike combat damage. How many lighting strikes has a full-up, finished F-35 had, simulated or otherwise?
Answer: there will still be significant flight restrictions.
Oh and flight envelop restriction: speed, performance.
Time for a Department of Justice Task Force.
Purpose?
Uncover fraud.
Lots and lots of fraud.
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-Time's Battleland - 5 Part series on F-35 procurement - 2013
-Summary of Air Power Australia F-35 points
-Bill Sweetman, Aviation Week and the F-35
-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
-F-35 deliveries
-ADF's wacky F-35 assumptions
-Gauging performance, the 2008 F-35, Davis dream brief
-Aboriginal brought out as a prop
-Super Kendall's F-35 problem
-LM sales force in pre-Internet era
-History of F-35 engine problems
-Compare
-JSF hopes and dreams...early days of the Ponzi Scheme
-The Prognostics
-2002--Australia joins the F-35 program
-Congressional Research Service--Through to FY2013, F-35 has received $83.3B in funding
-F-35 choice gives Dutch a shocking high cost per flight hour
-More indications that the F-35 is a failed program
-From the year 2000. Very insightful. The JSF: One More Card In The House (PDF)
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