Rival manufacturers target JSF

Sensing blood from the troubled JSF program, rival fighter manufacturers are seeing hope for future orders for their products. Rival program representatives are no longer shy about benchmarking their jets against the long-delayed and over-budget JSF.

JSF engine too big to be transported to carriers

Navy Times has reported that the size of the F-35 JSF's engine would render it impossible to ferry additional engines to a Nimitz-class carrier at sea in the (admittedly rare) event one was required. The F135 engine would not fit onto carrier-capable transport aircraft and it is too heavy to be transferred from ship to ship via underway replenishment

Israel offered 20 F-35s in exchange for further settlement freeze

The Obama administration has offered Israel another 20 Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters as part of a "persuasion package" to encourage the Israeli government to agree to another three-month halt in building settlements in the disputed West Bank.

F-35 cuts 'could slash US budget': report

A non-binding US presidential commission says in a draft proposal that terminating the F-35 program would shave more than US$50 billion off the Defense budget. It also says more can be saved by slashing four major aerospace and defence projects.

PHOTO: F-35C arrives at Patuxent River

(Click on thumbnail for high res image)
101106-N-0000X-001 PATUXENT RIVER, Md. (Nov. 6, 2010) The first F-35C Lightning II carrier variant, the U.S. Navy's first stealth fighter, arrived at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 2:37 p.m. EST. The aircraft, piloted by David "Doc" Nelson, departed Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base at 11:31 a.m. EST and achieved successful air refuels at a maximum load of 19,800 pounds during the flight. At Patuxent River, the F-35C will conduct air-to-air refueling and performance testing. (Photo provided courtesy of Lockheed Martin/Released)

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First F-35C arrives at Pax River

Flightglobal brings you photos and video of the first F-35C Lightning II carrier-borne JSF to arrive at Patuxent River in Maryland for flight testing. The aircraft also carried out four successful mid-air refuelling from a KC-130 during its ferry flight from Texas.

Catapults on RN CVF to cost up to £800m extra

Babcock, part of the consortium building the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers, has estimated that installing catapults on one of the CVFs as planned will add up to £800m to the cost of the ship. The United Kingdom decided at the recent strategic review to install the catapults and purchase the carrier-capable F-35C instead of the STOVL F-35B JSF.

Japan eyes F-35s; gives up on more F-2s.

Japan has set its sights on procuring the F-35 fighter as Japan’s main next-generation fighter aircraft for the JASDF. The move will result in no more Mitsubishi F-2s being purchased for the JASDF.

Costs, payload and range swayed UK's F-35C decision

The United Kingdom's vice defense chief has said that the high costs of the STOVL F-35B Joint Strike Fighter, coupled with the better payload and range of the carrier-based F-35C were the main factors that convinced the UK to switch to buying the F-35C Joint Strike Fighter.

UAV/UCAV technology to Influence U.K. F-35C Buy

A senior British defense official has said that development of next generation combat UAVs along with the health of the Royal Air Force’s current fighter fleet will be key factors in determining how many F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters the United Kingdom will buy. The UK plans to swap 138 F-35B STOVL aircraft for an unspecified number of F-35C carrier-based JSFs.

JSF to be delayed further; costs more

More bad news for the Joint Strike Fighter; The program will need $2.5 to $5 billion more than currently budgeted and also faces significant schedule delays. The F-35A and C schedule might slip by up to a yea while the B might be delayed by up to 3 years.

F-35 Anechoic Chamber Testing

Code One Magazine looks at the Anechoic Chamber at Lockheed Martin's Fort Worth facility and its testing of the F-35 JSF. Anechoic chambers are rooms designed to stop reflections of either sound or electromagnetic waves and to isolate the aircraft from outside radio signals.

No decision yet on final UK JSF numbers

In the wake of the UK's publication of its strategic review, the government has stated that no decision has been made regarding the total number of F-35 JSF's to be ordered and may be delayed till 2015. However it has been revealed that only 12 JSFs would be placed on the envisaged operational aircraft carrier, down from an initially planned 36 and total numbers might drop from 138 to as few as 40.

Details of UK Strategic Review emerging

Details of the UK's Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) are beginning to emerge. The key points regards military aviation are:

• RAF Harriers to be withdrawn next year


• RAF to operate a smaller number of Tornadoes


• Aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth to operate helicopters for about 3 years from 2016, then be mothballed/sold


• Aircraft carrier HMS Price of Wales to be fitted with catapult and arrester gear


• Current fully operational carrier HMS Ark Royal will be scrapped


• Other carrier currently in inventory, HMS Illustrious will be withdrawn in 2014


• Royal Navy's F-35 JSFs, likely to be the carrier-capable F-35B version, to be operational in 2020

UK considers dumping STOVL F-35

The British government has hinted that it might consider dropping the purchase of the STOVL F-35B Joint Strike Fighter in favour of the F-35C carrier version for at least one of its Queen Elizabeth class CVFs. The move will allow would allow French and U.S. Navy jets to cross-deck with the British carrier.

GE Finds F136 Failure Cause

General-Electric has said that the F136 engine test shut-down in late September resulted from a seal clearance in the fan that was set too tight. The problem is confined to the affected engine and does not affect the other engines currently undergoing testing.

Royal Navy keeps carriers but could end up without combat aircraft

The UK's Defence Secretary has said that the Royal Navy will get to keep its carrier(s) but might have to make do without combat aircraft until the RN's F-35 JSF's are delivered in 2018 if the current Harriers are cut by the impending stratgic review.

Lockheed Martin to develop new carrier landing technique for RN JSFs

Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $13 million contract to incorporate shipborne rolling vertical landing (SRVL) capability into the F-35B for the Royal Navy The new technique will increase the payload that the F-35B can bring back to the carrier by 2,000-4,000 lb. above what is possible with a vertical landing

JSF engine fight spills over into Israeli order

The Pratt and Whitney vs. General Electric/Rolls Royce cage fight for the F-35 JSF's engine has spilled over into Israel, with Pratt claiming victory in the race to power Israel's first batch of JSFs while GE/RR says the game's anything but over. The controversy leaves in doubt the first potential engine selection by a non-US F-35customer for production phase aircraft.

F-35 grounded to fix new software problem

Lockheed Martin has grounded the F-35 to fix a newly-discovered software problem that can cause a fuel boost pump to shut down in flight. The grounding is expected to last at least through early next week.