Denmark Considering Alternative Fighters Besides F-35

Denmark, one of the eight partner countries of the United States in the development of the F-35 fighter aircraft, will consider alternative candidates to replace its existing fleet of 30 F-16 aircraft.

The number and type of aircraft will be determined before the end of June 2015. The candidates under consideration are:

• the F-35 Lightning II from Lockheed Martin
• the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet from Boeing
• the Eurofighter Typhoon from EADS, BAE and Alenia Aeronautica
• the Gripen from Saab

The Dassault Rafale will not be competing at this point in time.

Denmark had originally been expected to buy as many as 48 F-35 aircraft, but may now only be able to afford at best 24 fighters. That is assuming aircraft costs that are escalating are brought under control.

While the partner countries are not obliged to opt for the F-35 and the Joint Strike Fighter may ultimately get selected, the decision by Denmark to look at alternative fighter aircraft is indicative of the problems facing the F-35 program.

The F-35 program that is led by Lockheed Martin is several years behind schedule in development, over budget and continues to suffer from unresolved technical problems.

These same issues have already caused several other countries such as Australia, Canada and the Netherlands to make changes to their original plans regarding the F-35.

The reduced purchases or even outright cancellations of F-35 aircraft by just once country put further pressure on aircraft costs for everyone else. These price increases can lead to further reductions in aircraft numbers somewhere else, creating a vicious cycle that feeds on itself.

The F-35 program was originally projected to be produced in very large numbers. Much of the original aircraft costs calculations were based on those projected numbers.

The F-35 program needs to have those numbers produced. If one country reduces its purchases, they have to be made up by purchases from some other country. Without that, it will be very hard for the F-35 to realize the goals that had originally been envisioned when the project was first conceived.


http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/26/denmark-fighters-idUSL6N0CE7UH20130326

By U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Julius Delos Reyes [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

US Report Details Unresolved Issues With F-35 Program

An 18 page Pentagon report recently sent to the United States Congress has provided some details about the current state of the F-35 fighter Lightning II program, which at $396 billion makes it the most expensive weapons program in the history of the United States.

Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor, is to build 3 different models of the F-35 fighter for the United States, which plans to purchase 2443 of the aircraft. In addition, the plane will likely be acquired by eight other nations that helped pay for its development, including:

• Australia, 
• Canada, 
• Denmark, 
• Italy, 
• the Netherlands, 
• Norway, 
• Turkey,
• the United kingdom 

While Lockheed Martin has reported the F-35 plan overall remains on track with continued progress on flight tests, software development, and was demonstrating exceptional stability, the highlights of the report include the following:

• the program has completed a third or 20,000 of all planned test flights and has 39,579 left to go
• certain tests planned for 2012 by Lockheed Martin were not accomplished, but overall the number of tests completed in 2012 of 1092 exceeded the number planned of 927 by performing some future tests earlier
• the F-35A completed 30 percent less tests than planned due to problems with the weapon bay doors, operating limits of the aircraft and problems with the air refuelling system, which required new instrumentation
• the F-35B for the Marine Corps has issues with the engine lift fan built by Rolls Royce, a supplier to the engine maker, Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp
• durability testing of the F-35B had to be halted after multiple cracks were found on the underside of the plane's fuselage
• the F-35C has problems with the ability to transfer video and imagery data to ships and a potentially serious problem with the coolant system
• during high-speed, high-altitude flights, the stealthy coatings peeled off on horizontal tail surfaces due to higher-than-expected temperatures
• software packages from Lockheed Martin needed to support flight tests were delayed or not complete when delivered
• both the advanced helmet and the computerized logistics system have issues that remain unresolved 
• weapons integration testing has been delayed by numerous factors, including problems with radar performance
• flight operations are currently banned within 25 miles of known lightning conditions due to issues with the system that protects the plane from fuel tank explosions caused by lightning
• the mean time between critical failures has increased and the aircraft weight has remained steady, but the aircraft's performance remains below the level expected at this point in time

Overall, the report revealed the F-35 fighter aircraft has yet to mature due the continued developmental problems of the program, which has already been restructured 3 times before to slow down production and allow continued development.


http://news.yahoo.com/pentagon-report-cites-lack-maturity-lockheed-f-35-012237872--finance.html

By U.S. Air Force [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

By Ahunt [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

By USMC [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

By USGov [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons

By USGov [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons