The F-35 Thread

so wrong on so many levels smh

 

in other news f-35 price keeps going down, projected $80m -a model for fy2019.

It still buys 2.5 brand new F-16 block 52+ :D

Eventually every man and his dog will have an F16 parked away somewhere

Eventually every man and his dog will have an F16 parked away somewhere

If only you were right :D

If only you were right :D

I'd even settle for a Block 10.

I'd even settle for a Block 10.

I'd take one of those with a -229, just for the lolz.

for real men they had this:

6BDgQwlfHII

I'd take one of those with a -229, just for the lolz.

I wonder if that engine fits in a block 10?

​The F-35 program office is looking at adding capacity for another AIM-120 AMRAAM radar-guided air-to-air missile in each of the jet’s two weapons bays, increasing internal—and thus stealthy—missile loadout by 50 percent, program director Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan said March 22. Speaking with reporters after his speech at a McAleese/Credit Suisse conference in Washington, D.C., Bogdan said, “There is potential … to add a third missile on each side.” The upgrade would likely be part of the Block IV program of F-35 enhancements, but “that’s something I know the services and all the partners” are interested in. Bogdan said this would not require some special version of AMRAAM, but “the same AMRAAM missiles that we carry today, just an extra one; probably on the weapons bay door.” The F-35 can carry two AMRAAMs in each bay now, or a mix of AMRAAMs and Joint Direct Attack Munitions internally.

http://www.airforcemag.com/DRArchive/Pages/2017/March%202017/March%2028%202017/Let%E2%80%99s-Do-More-Shots.aspx

http://www.airforcemag.com/DRArchive/Pages/2017/March%202017/March%2028%202017/Let%E2%80%99s-Do-More-Shots.aspx

When did this get moved up from Block V to Block IV?

When did this get moved up from Block V to Block IV?

I guess since this

If "Net Enabled Weapons" doesn't give you a tactical aviation woody, I don't know what will. I'm also intrigued to see the GBU-38 on the list. I know it's frequently used on other platforms but I thought I read somewhere that they wanted to go with the GBU-54 full-time and skip -38 integration for cost and resource savings. How old is that slide?

for real men they had this:

 

6BDgQwlfHII

ahhh the what could have been aircraft.

after watching that video Im sold now i want a F20 module :P

Testing of ejection seats complete (maybe)

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/usaf-completes-last-tests-for-f-35-ejection-seat-435792/

Raptors won't talk? Or the Lightning just won't listen?

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/communications-gateway-between-f-35-and-f-22-still-t-435790/

The F-35 will be getting a new, cleaner look. New airplanes will roll out with the new coating starting late second quarter of this year, and older airplanes will be scheduled to get the new coating over time.

Apparently the new uniform coating will save $49 million in materials throughout the program lifetime, and save ~128 work hours per airplane.

And it will make life for scale modelers somewhat easier. ;)

And it will make life for scale modelers somewhat easier. ;)

Yes and no I guess. Since it's a RAM coating and not just paint I don't think it adheres to any particular FS595 color chips. So choosing the particular grey tone for models will be mostly guesswork.

The F-35 will be getting a new, cleaner look. New airplanes will roll out with the new coating starting late second quarter of this year, and older airplanes will be scheduled to get the new coating over time.

 

 

Apparently the new uniform coating will save $49 million in materials throughout the program lifetime, and save ~128 work hours per airplane.

look like older coating version though

Yes and no I guess. Since it's a RAM coating and not just paint I don't think it adheres to any particular FS595 color chips. So choosing the particular grey tone for models will be mostly guesswork.

So they have another RAM for F-35 to replace the previous one? will this be applied to F-22 as well?

The F-35 will be getting a new, cleaner look. New airplanes will roll out with the new coating starting late second quarter of this year, and older airplanes will be scheduled to get the new coating over time.

 

 

Apparently the new uniform coating will save $49 million in materials throughout the program lifetime, and save ~128 work hours per airplane.

Do you have any source, I am interested in learning more but I can't find anything. Thanks

I too, am curious about this.

Sorry, source is the LM intranet so linking it won't do any good. I'll quote the entirety of the article:

There is a new look coming to the F-35 later in the year! With a sleeker, more uniform coating system, F-35s are saving time in Aircraft Final Finishes (AFF) and saving dollars. The design and new look didn’t happen overnight, but rather was the effort of many people over the last five years.

 

In 2012, James Thistle came to Fort Worth from F-22 in Marietta as the Production Operations Senior Manager in AFF. He quickly recognized the need for improving the throughput of AFF, which at the time was operating at almost double the scheduled span and cost budgeted for the area. After pitching a potentially significant opportunity to his then-director, Tom Carrubba, now vice president of Aeronautics Quality Transformation and Enterprise Integration, he was able to gain the initial support for changing the engineering design, coatings material and the application process used in AFF.

 

“What resulted in the end was several days of span time saved in AFF and one of the most positively impactful affordability projects on the F-35 to date. It saves significant hours per unit, defects and rework and improves the aircraft sustainability in the field. It also changes the exterior look of the aircraft to a more uniform coating,” said Carrubba.

 

“The Aircraft Finishes configuration required the preparation and applications of various materials, which aesthetically appear as jig saw panes of various shades of gray across doors, panels and control surface edges. The manufacturing process to yield a complying product are extremely labor intensive and requires unique skill sets and more so concentrated attention to detail, which meant more labor and processing span in AFF," said Thistle. "Despite the immense efforts amongst the F-35 Finishes organizations, the process often yielded escapes and as a result contributed towards the organizations number one driver for quality defects."

 

The idea to optimize the process by eliminating multiple masking operations and the need to manually hand spray various top coats by using robotic application during the final top coat application; or “Z13” overcoat as it is more commonly known, was conceived. The project will reduce the cost of an F-35A by $16,000 per aircraft and will save $49 million in the total life of the program.

 

Chad Wemyss, Delivery Operations Manufacturing Engineering (ME) manager, has been working on the project since picking it up as AFF ME Lead in 2012. “This has been one of the most intense collaboration efforts I’ve taken part in. It has involved several years of testing by the Signature Integration and Materials and Processes (M&P) teams, as well as close teamwork with Production Operations, Finishes Engineering, Sustainment, the Affordability team, the F-35 Program Office and the customer, Joint Program Office (JPO). There have been a lot of stakeholders with different aspects of project inputs and requirements and keeping the whole thing moving forward has been challenging, but also extremely rewarding,” he said. The team kept with it and the results were evident when AF-104, the test aircraft for this project, finished its final coatings in AFF. Implementation of the change is expected in the 2nd quarter of 2017.

Sorry, source is the LM intranet so linking it won't do any good. I'll quote the entirety of the article:

Okay thanks for trying. Ik it doesnt mean anything but I really like the look of the F35 now

Okay thanks for trying. Ik it doesnt mean anything but I really like the look of the F35 now

same haha

but saving $50M (mostly in repairs, I assume) is a nice bonus

thanks for the sauce

if this new coating is applied robotically, what would it mean for field operations?

No clue TBH. I emailed James Thistle yesterday to ask a few questions (namely what effect does the new coating have on the drag coefficient of a slick airplane, and if there is a weight gain/loss). If he emails back I'll ask about field ops and how they intend to make repairs.