Posted on 12/03/2010 9:33:27 PM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
Lockheed Martin expects to learn the outcome of a recent review into its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme around mid-December, as it also starts adjusting to a major shift announced by its main international partner, the UK.
The US Defense Acquisition Board met in late November to discuss potential cost and schedule overruns on the F-35, believed to have been outlined during a technical baseline review. With the outcome of their recommendations to be included in the next fiscal year budget, it had been thought that details would not emerge until early next year.
"The budget is going to lock down in the next couple of weeks, and my sense is that we are going to get strong support out of the Department of Defense," says Tom Burbage, Lockheed's executive vice-president F-35 programmes. "I don't expect to hear anything as dramatic as a variant change," he adds, referring to suggestions that the short take-off and vertical landing B-model could be cancelled.
(Excerpt) Read more at flightglobal.com ...
Obama chomping at the bit to cut this one as well...
Why is this jet taking forever? They need to be spanked HARD for this.
Maybe Boeing with their ugly ass design would’ve had it out by now.
One Word:Politics
Yeah, maybe they could put their 787 team on it.
It’s a damn shame that this stuff happens. You got fatcats in Lockheed and the government laughing at us all.
Lockheed derseves to be shutdown for this isnane overrun BS.
This project is needed of course, but it’s a disaster. This is kinda showing all that is wrong with our fascist sytem now. Government run projects and their playboy cashola prize top guys at the companies that laugh at us.
Yep, all a joke.
Terrible, awful.. Ripoffs for taxpayers. Bad, lousy companies now both.
I know the types up high that think this way. It’s a sad situation, they’ll kill their mothers for a dollar.
The F-35 STOVL doesn't have the same problem because of the Ducted Fan design innovation. Cool fresh air is drawn in and expelled under the fuselage, so the engine intake is not fed hot exhaust gases.
I know all that.
But it might’ve been better to work on that Boeing design than this insane Lockheed one that apparently is just as inept.
(I don’t think it’s a bad design, it’s all a bunch of Lockheed guys saying ‘drag it out, that’s where the $ is’)
Dragging this stuff out is the huge huge $ maker.
The STOVL version was the stake through the heart. They couldn't fix it and they actually tried to get the testing rigged so the plane didn't have to have all the fuselage panels attached to save weight and improve performance against the F-35.
Oh yeah, and the Boeing version was butt ugly. LOL
The F35 should be killed off, and many of the people involved should be fired or sent to prison.
Use the saved funds to buy more F22’s. Once you have air surperiority, you can fly A-10s, BFUBS (52s), helicopters, whatever.
The idea of this “does everything” plane is stupid, driven by politics, and backed by people who don’t understand basic military doctrine. To wit: Once you own the air, you OWN THE AIR, so you can fly whatever you want.
STOVL performance was the thing that won in for Lockheed. They had a better design that didn’t suffer from hot gas ingestion, and could demonstrate it better than the Boeing model did.
Their new design looked very good. Too bad they didn’t have time to get it working because that might have made the difference.
Could someone please tell me what is so great about this aircraft and what it has over what we already have in the air now?
Payload.....nope.
Range........nope.
Supercruise....nope.
Thrust vectoring...nope.
I just don’t get it. Seems like an overpriced turkey to me.
Thrust vectoring...nope.
***I got my rear end chewed on this forum 5 years ago for suggesting that Thrust Vectoring was desirable. Would Viffing improve this plane’s performance?
You're right. More F-22's...if we need a new "do it all" aircraft in addition the golden oldies you mention, F-18 fit's the bill.
The F-35B does the same thing, but uses two of its weapons bay doors as fences. Notice that in all the F-35B hover pics you see, the weapon doors are open, but in all of the pics of short takeoff, they're closed.
Another thing that helps prevent settling with power is that while the Harrier has blow-in doors to allow more air in during hover, the F-35B has an auxiliary air inlet that opens up on the top of the fuselage to feed more air into the engine during STOVL operations.
The forward door on the top of the aircraft allows air into the forward lift fan, while the second set of doors behind it let fresh air into the engine.
If you see the F-35 as a first day of war weapon, it’s range and payload are more or less acceptable. It can haul a lot of ordnance under its wings. While the F-35’s ‘stealth’ payload is modest, it’s range in such a configuration would be better than most rivals. Besides a conventional aircraft would need to carry external fuel tanks (Super Hornets, Rafales are usually seen with three) and IR/laser guidance pods.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.