via World Tribune.
WASHINGTON — The United States, alarmed by poor exports, plans to enable foreign allies to customize the Joint Strike Fighter.First we had talk of the program office floating the idea of allowing allies to do block buys of the airplane. Now this.
Officials said the Defense Department has approved a proposal that would offer foreign countries the right to change mission data on the F-35 fighter-jet. They said the step could accommodate demands by foreign partners in the $1 trillion program for input in the aircraft’s mission computer.
We together, jointly, will build there the brains of the airplane for them,” JSF program manager Chris Bogdan said.
In a briefing in late October, Bogdan said military personnel from foreign clients would work in JSF facilities to develop individual software packages. He said data packages would be prepared for clients in two different regions, one of them believed to be the Middle East.
“In the future we will have many labs where our partners are going to do some of their own work,” Bogdan said.
The arrangement marked a revision of a decades-long policy of refusing to customize U.S. fighter-jets. Officials acknowledged increasing anger among JSF’s partners, particularly Britain, Italy and Turkey, over the Pentagon’s refusal to transfer technology for the F-35.
“They go to different places and they fight in different ways,” Bogdan said.
As a result, most of the JSF partners have refused to submit significant orders for the fifth-generation aircraft. So far, only Israel, not a partner in JSF, has ordered a squadron and plans to procure an additional squadron.
I don't know whats going on behind closed doors but the desperation is getting thick enough to cut it with a knife. 2015 will be an interesting year for F-35 watchers.
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ReplyDeleteTalk about revisionist
ReplyDeleteLack of tech transfer was not the driving force behind Partners cutting back their LRIP orders. They have known all along that they would not be getting the source codes.
There are two main reasons why the Partners have cut their LRIP orders: The economy and US Politics. The economic problems of the last decade are well known, so I won’t go over that. The other reason for the LRIP drop is that the US bet the farm on Concurrency and when it started to go pear-shaped, they back-peddled faster than you can say “What Concurrency”. Cutting back on the US LRIP orders and stretching out the SDD Cycle made most of the Partner jets cost a lot more since they were buying most of their jets during the planned late-LRIP stage. Combine the now increased costs & the downturn in the economy and you end up with serious LRIP cutbacks.
On the “Mission Planning” software, that is a misnomer. Basically, what they are talking about are the basic geographic and threat databases for a geographic region. As an example of this, the USMC only wants two for IOC, the “Pacific” and “Middle East”. This is not the Mission Planning software that we are used to talking about that includes route planning, weapons load-out’s, etc that are used to create specific mission packages. Some have suggested that the data centers being talked about in the article can be used to keep Partner F-35s from flying. This is patently FALSE.
Another thing that is a false statement in the article is that this agreement is a change in the “decades-long policy of refusing to customize U.S. fighter-jets”. This also BS. The mission files, both the regional ones being talked about and the mission-specific ones that I brought up, have always been designed for adaptation.
The things that have always been a non-starter for “customization” are things like radar, ESM, radios, etc. In other words, the jet was made to be customized in software but not in hardware. There are a few exceptions to this, most notably weapons (via UAI) and a new API to allow addition radio and ESM gear to be carried (details unknown) as a request from the Israelis.
"There are two main reasons why the Partners have cut their LRIP orders: The economy and US Politics." ....and several unresolved development problems with various systems. ---As for the "customize" bit. It will all be within the limits of the two Delta SDD contracts ...by each Joint Strike Fighter Partner Nation (and now FMS) configuration agreement already in place.... and that the JPO doesn't get to decide what technology/capability is exportable. Israel being an exception on hardware.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, in Canada... It looks like Bogdan got caught in a little fib.
ReplyDeletehttp://m.torontosun.com/2014/11/07/no-truth-to-reports-canada-will-buy-f-35s-feds
http://www.pogoarchives.org/straus/a-10/bogdan_secaf-brief-20141027.pdf
"several unresolved development problems with various systems"
ReplyDeleteLike I said, stretched the SDD Cycle to the right instead of committing more assets to meet (as best they could) the original timelines.
Great PDF, thanks Doug! Canada is denying it but does looks like someone considered it. The interesting part is USAF could "spare" 4 JSF...is LMT afraid they are going to lose Canada as a buyer? Why not deliver them to Israel? Seems to me they want them sooner rather than later......
ReplyDeleteAlso kind of weird how they could make the numbers work when they would come from LRIP 7 that we know the cost but USAF would get them back from LRIP9 which is still far away?
http://aviationweek.com/defense/jsf-program-office-looks-canada-f-35-swap
thanks for the post sol.. i find it hilarious how on other site some lockmart shills always tried to spin up positive thing even when thing started getting thick and piling up fast.. i find it hilarious that the spudman also take time to post his spin here..
ReplyDeletewhy dont lockmart outsource the airframe to the chinese and outsource the avionics to israelis lol... they can be the Walmart of MIC then..
This is going to far.
ReplyDeleteISIS SF > https://twitter.com/rConflictNews/status/529537901009600513
Hezbolahh SF > https://twitter.com/Nour_Samaha/status/529746934253514752/photo/1
Do you guys confirm this?
Israel isn't a partner? Thought they tossed in a few pounds at the start of the program? Something about a non-primary security participants?
ReplyDeleteAndre, those are super balacalvas, anyone wearing them automatically becomes SF supermen. You can get them online at any store, though if you want to be seen as SF, you might want to avoid colours like pink and neon green. :) That was sarcasm by the way, just in case people didn't catch it. SF needs more than pretty clothes to really be "SF".
I'm not talking about the balaclavas, but the fact they might be creating special forces. But I get your point.
DeleteSol. I didn't get time to pull the site, but there are reports numerous police cars have been broken into in the St Louis area targeting body armor. Bus load of activists arrived last night, and FBI put out a warning the black panthers bought up a load of ammo for the coming war with police...
ReplyDeletesorry Tony. the authorities in that case have acted stupidly. trouble is probably coming and the authorities have brought it on themselves.
Deletei'm not even going to bother to cover it. the police are gearing for war and so is the community. just pass me the beer and popcorn. i'll watch, marvel and be amused but i won't get excited. the only thing certain is that the entire area...ferguson, and st. louis metroplex is about to see law enforcement get targeted in ways that they never could imagine.
Meanwhile in china...
ReplyDeletethe Su-35 landed at the airport Chinese Zhuhai
intelligence Su-35 is higher than the American "advanced" fifth generation fighter F-35 ,Radar Control System "Irbis" installed on the Su-35, the most powerful in the world. It can detect air targets at record distances - up to 400 km, accompanied simultaneously to thirty, and fire up to eight targets.
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=fr&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fantony-w.livejournal.com%2F313652.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRkc2kR9q7U
Deletethe sukhois especially those with new avionics will be more than a match for the current fighter of chinese potential regional adversaries like japan, the chinese J20/31 will be an overmatch for japan..
Deletethough reason should prevail as chinese will measure the benefit and gain to the possible cost of war against anyone even weaker ones in the region.. as i see it, japan already losing their grip and thus their increased militarism which will blow back in their face in the short future..
This does not necessarily mean that the plane is bad. It makes sense for potential customers to wait until the competition gets their planes ready so that they won't get ripped off as Lockheed loses the bid if the price is too high.
ReplyDelete