F-35 - News and Discussions

[BATMAN]

Six F-35 Jets Meant for Turkey to be Handed over to US Air Force
The United States National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) 2021 has authorized the Air Force to utilize, modify, and operate six Turkish F-35s that were manufactured but never delivered because Turkey was suspended from the F-35 program.

The NDAA which is expected to be passed into law will mean the official exit from the F-35 program for Turkey for continuing with the purchase and operation of the Russian S-400 air defence system (ADS).

The NDAA bill makes no mention of the $1.5 billion advance paid by Turkey to buy the aircraft. Ankara has demanded a refund following the US not delivering two aircraft as per schedule.

Of the six aircraft, two were being used to train Turkish pilots when the row with the US broke out in 2018.

The closure to Turkey's quest for F-35 jets is expected to make it go closer to Russia for modern jets and accelerate efforts on its TX jet project.

There are reports that Ankara may retaliate by restricting US military aircraft flights from its Incirlik air base.

 

[Khafee]

Lockheed Martin awarded $368.2M to build six F-35s for Italy
Updated June 12, 2020
View attachment 13762
The Italian Navy's aircraft carrier Cavour finished upgrades in May to accommodate F-35 fighter planes. Photo courtesy of Italian Navy

View attachment 13761

Lockheed Martin received a $368.2 million contract to build six F-35 fighter planes for the Italian defense ministry, the Pentagon announced.

Italy will receive five F-35As and one F-35B by 2023, according to a statement from the Defense Department on Thursday.
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Italy currently has 15 F-35s in service, with plans to acquire 60 more. Lockheed Martin's facility at Cameri Air Base will undertake the new plane's final assembly and checkout.

The purchase has been a recent source of contention in Italian politics. In the past year, the minority FiveStar Party has sought a temporary halt to new acquisitions, a call amplified by the costs of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

On May 28, Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini confirmed that the purchases will continue.

Last month the 800-foot long Cavour, one of two aircraft carriers in the Italian Navy, completed a two-year, $76 million upgrade to accommodate F-35s, regarded as the most advanced fighter planes in the world.

The work included the addition of a layer of heat-resisting material to the carrier's flight deck, so the downward exhaust of the vertical-takeoff-and-landing F-35B will not melt the deck.

The Cavour will travel to the United States in the summer to receive its first F-35B planes, which currently are in testing phase at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C.

 

[Gripen9]

Lockheed Martin awarded $368.2M to build six F-35s for Italy
Updated June 12, 2020
View attachment 13762
The Italian Navy's aircraft carrier Cavour finished upgrades in May to accommodate F-35 fighter planes. Photo courtesy of Italian Navy

View attachment 13761

Lockheed Martin received a $368.2 million contract to build six F-35 fighter planes for the Italian defense ministry, the Pentagon announced.

Italy will receive five F-35As and one F-35B by 2023, according to a statement from the Defense Department on Thursday.
Advertisement

Italy currently has 15 F-35s in service, with plans to acquire 60 more. Lockheed Martin's facility at Cameri Air Base will undertake the new plane's final assembly and checkout.

The purchase has been a recent source of contention in Italian politics. In the past year, the minority FiveStar Party has sought a temporary halt to new acquisitions, a call amplified by the costs of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

On May 28, Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini confirmed that the purchases will continue.

Last month the 800-foot long Cavour, one of two aircraft carriers in the Italian Navy, completed a two-year, $76 million upgrade to accommodate F-35s, regarded as the most advanced fighter planes in the world.

The work included the addition of a layer of heat-resisting material to the carrier's flight deck, so the downward exhaust of the vertical-takeoff-and-landing F-35B will not melt the deck.

The Cavour will travel to the United States in the summer to receive its first F-35B planes, which currently are in testing phase at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C.

That come out to be 60M per plane. Not bad

 

[Mastankhan]

That come out to be 60M per plane. Not bad

Hi,

But the operational cost will be a killer---.

 

[Gripen9]

Hi,

But the operational cost will be a killer---.

I was mentioning it in reference to Italy. That already has the infrastructure built for F35. So the acquisition of second batch is reasonable.
And yes OP cost for stealth platform will be much higher.

 

[Khafee]

Proposed $23.1B F-35 Sale to Japan Gets State Dept Clearance
July 10, 2020

The State Department has cleared Japan’s request to buy 105 units of Lockheed Martin-built (NYSE: LMT) F-35 fighter jets, Pratt & Whitney-made aircraft engines and related equipment and services under a potential $23.11B foreign military sales agreement.

Lockheed and Pratt & Whitney were named prime contractors in the proposed sale, which includes 63 F-35As, 42 F-35Bs and 110 F135 engines, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Thursday.

The FMS deal will also cover electronic warfare systems, autonomic logistics global support system, software development and integration, F-35 unique infrared flares, engineering, logistics and technical support services.

The government of Japan has made the procurement request to improve its air-to-ground and air-to-air self-defense capabilities and increase its inventory of operational aircraft.

DSCA notified Congress of the potential FMS deal Thursday and said the transaction will require the deployment of contractor and government personnel to the East Asian country over a 25-year period to support training, program management and technical reviews.

 

[Armchair]

That come out to be 60M per plane. Not bad

Does not include engine price and other "stuff". One of the tricks they used with the F-35 program.

 

[Armchair]

Proposed $23.1B F-35 Sale to Japan Gets State Dept Clearance
July 10, 2020

The State Department has cleared Japan’s request to buy 105 units of Lockheed Martin-built (NYSE: LMT) F-35 fighter jets, Pratt & Whitney-made aircraft engines and related equipment and services under a potential $23.11B foreign military sales agreement.

Lockheed and Pratt & Whitney were named prime contractors in the proposed sale, which includes 63 F-35As, 42 F-35Bs and 110 F135 engines, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Thursday.

The FMS deal will also cover electronic warfare systems, autonomic logistics global support system, software development and integration, F-35 unique infrared flares, engineering, logistics and technical support services.

The government of Japan has made the procurement request to improve its air-to-ground and air-to-air self-defense capabilities and increase its inventory of operational aircraft.

DSCA notified Congress of the potential FMS deal Thursday and said the transaction will require the deployment of contractor and government personnel to the East Asian country over a 25-year period to support training, program management and technical reviews.

This comes down to a price of about $220 million per aircraft! Talk about a low cost alternative to the F-22... not very low cost after all.

 

[Mastankhan]

That come out to be 60M per plane. Not bad

Hi,

calculate the flight hour cost---around $25000---/hr. 3 hrs of flight time a day---10 days a month---.

ie $750000 a month---$9 mil a year at 25 years is close to a minimum of $225 mil---a total roughly of $300 mil

F16---at $4k an hour---$12k a day at 3 hr flight time---10 days a month at $120K ends up at $1.44Mil a year at 25 years at $36 mil.

What enemy is Italy facing that it needed the F35---???


Grippen NG---$2750 / hr---3hrs / day at $8250---at $82.5K / month---at$990 K a yr and 25 years at $24.75 mil.

Jf17 thunder---at $4000 / hr---same as the f16's---maybe less.

 

[Nightfox]

Russia Tech Helped Iran Track U.S. F-35s in Stand Off, Company Claims

The CEO of a technology firm has claimed that Iranian forces used a Russian-made radar system to identify and track American warplanes in January.

www.newsweek.com

 

[space cadet]

Russia Tech Helped Iran Track U.S. F-35s in Stand Off, Company Claims

The CEO of a technology firm has claimed that Iranian forces used a Russian-made radar system to identify and track American warplanes in January.

www.newsweek.com

Well the Russians are good for a laugh every now and again

 

[Nightfox]

If

Well the Russians are good for a laugh every now and again

If the chinese can claim to do so with the JY27 then who is there is to judge to the Russians

 

[space cadet]

If

If the chinese can claim to do so with the JY27 then who is there is to judge to the Russians

with the proper radar they can be tracked, not a weapons quality track, but a round about track, but this is the big laughable claim:

"The radar's personnel were transmitting information, including the routes of F-35 flights," he added. "For this reason, the opponent did not commit any irreparable actions that might have caused a big war."

The Russians will say anything to try to sell some equipment

 

[Nightfox]

with the proper radar they can be tracked, not a weapons quality track, but a round about track, but this is the big laughable claim:

"The radar's personnel were transmitting information, including the routes of F-35 flights," he added. "For this reason, the opponent did not commit any irreparable actions that might have caused a big war."

The Russians will say anything to try to sell some equipment

And they shot the poor ukrainian jet because of it

 

[space cadet]

Because of what?
If you think there was F-35's waiting to strike, you are not very bright.