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Quickstep Holdings Ltd. (North Coogee, Australia) on Feb. 2 announced that it has signed a long-term agreement (LTA) to manufacture composite parts for the international F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program over the next 20 years. Under the framework established in the LTA, first JSF parts and first cash flow will be delivered in 2012. The LTA was signed in Sydney, Australia, with Northrop Grumman Corp. (Los Angeles, Calif., USA). The LTA is the first of several agreements which will implement the memorandum of understanding (MOU) that was signed in November 2009 with F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin...

Details of the revamped F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program are emerging and showing that, despite more than nine years of work, almost six years of challenging development and testing still lie ahead for the Lockheed Martin-led project. Both flight testing and software development have been replanned using industry-standard productivity rates rather than the aggressive—and unachievable—assumptions on which the original program was built. This means many more sorties to refly flight-sciences test points and for regression testing of mission-system software changes. The replan adds 2,000 flights to the program—for a total of 7,800, just 600 of which have been completed—and extends...

This morning, Graham Warwick and Amy Butler's story on detailed changes to the F-35 flight test program goes live on the Check Six page. Highlights: Development testing is not now due to be completed until October 2016, completion being marked by the end of testing on Block 3 software. The new program will include 7,800 flights, restoring the 2,000 test sorties that the JSF Program Office cut in 2007. See the full story for more detail. In total, this represents a five-year delay since the program started. To take a more recent benchmark: in September 2008, the schedule called for...

As a former military pilot, a present airline pilot, and (if so honoured), a future Conservative member of Parliament for Guelph, I feel obliged to respond to Geoffrey Stevens’ recent column on the F-35. Stevens seems concerned the F-35 has only one engine-like the 1950’s vintage CF-104 Starfighter he calls the “widowmaker.” I ask, what is more reliable — a ’55 Chevy or a 2011 Honda? It’s been 60 years since the CF-104. There have been enormous technological advances over that period, and the aviation world has made huge advancements in technology and reliability. Aero engines today are designed better,...

In August 2010, Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced his decision to make the F-35 Lightning II ‏(aka the Joint Strike Fighter‏) as the future fighter plane of the Israel Air Force. Was it the right choice? The F-35 is a fifth-generation combat aircraft. As such it has some unique capabilities that would make every combat pilot’s mouth water: It is stealthy ‏(that is, nearly invisible to enemy radars‏); it has a suit of sensors that enables it to scan and track a large number of targets − in the air, in the sea and on the ground − and provide...

Australia's Quickstep Technologies has signed a long-term agreement with Northrop Grumman to produce parts for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. Under the deal the Australian aerospace manufacturing firm will make access panels, fuel tank covers, aircraft skins, and in-board weapons bay doors, says Australia's minister for defence materiel Jason Clare. Quickstep has also signed a memorandum of understanding with another Australian company, Marand Precision Engineering, to supply vertical tail skins for the JSF. The agreement positions Quickstep to secure up to A$580 million ($587 million) in F-35 work over the next 20 years and provide 400 jobs, says Clare,...

After a series of extensive ground and simulator training events, Lt. Cmdr. Eric "Magic" Buus completed the first flight by a U.S. Navy test pilot Feb. 3, 2011. "The flight was very enjoyable and went off without a hitch," Buus said. "I'm very blessed to be on this program, and it's a testament to the designers and engineers that this airplane flies so well. I'm looking forward to getting a few more hours, helping the team knock out test points, and delivering this airplane to the warfighters. I think the fleet is going to love this airplane." "This is a...

Well, it appears that the Air Force may be joining the Navy in predicting that the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter will cost significantly more to maintain than the current crop of fourth and 4.5 gen fighters. In January, 2010, a Navy briefing emerged predicting that the F-35 would cost between 25 and 40 percent more to fly and maintain than the sea service’s F/A-18s. Now, Air Force officials are saying similar things, according to sister site DoDBuzz: Senior Air Force leaders are growing increasingly concerned that Joint Strike Fighter maintenance and operating costs will rise far above previous...

Limited is set to embark on a major new growth phase, announcing on the 2nd of February 2011 that it has signed a Long Term Agreement (LTA) to manufacture parts for the international F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program over the next 20 years. Under the framework established in the LTA, first JSF parts and first cash flow will be delivered in 2012. The LTA was signed today in Sydney, Australia, with Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC), Los Angeles, a leading global security company. The LTA is the first of several agreements which will implement the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)...

Northrop Grumman of the United States has signed a long-term agreement with Australia's Quickstep Technologies for F-35 jet fighter composite components. Under terms of the second sourcing agreement, Quickstep will produce an initial group of composite subassemblies that includes F-35 lower side skins, maintenance access panels and fuel tank covers. "We have been working closely with Quickstep since 2010 to help them develop and mature their manufacturing capabilities to reach the high-precision standards required for the F-35," said Ram Ramkumar, director of F-35 international programs for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector. "We look forward to their continued progress as a...

An aerospace executive made an interesting point to me a while back about how building planes was similar to the way some nations make strategy. He said when you're in the capital equipment business, you have to think in multi-decade cycles, because that's how long it takes to design, develop and field a major new piece of equipment. The leaders of some countries, he said, seem to think the same way -- in decades -- when they formulate their national strategies. China is such a country. The United States typically is not. In America, political cycles unfold with startling rapidity,...

After months of contentious of disagreement, the U.S. Air Force is coming around to agreeing with U.S. Navy claims that the F-35 will cost much more to maintain, rather than (as the F-35 promoters assert) less. It was a year ago that the U.S. Navy, after nervously watching as the manufacturing costs of the new F-35C and F-35B carrier aircraft increase, concluded that these aircraft would also be a lot more expensive to maintain. It comes down to this. Currently, it costs the navy, on average, $19,000 an hour to operate its AV-8 vertical takeoff or F-18C fighter aircraft. The...

The Canadian military is denying a media report that there are flaws in the F-35 stealth fighter jets the Conservative government has agreed to spend billions to purchase. A F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is seen in the hangar prior to an announcement by Defence Minister Peter MacKay in Ottawa in October. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)A published report in Monday's Ottawa Citizen quotes unnamed sources as saying the F-35s cannot be refuelled mid-air with existing air force equipment and can't land on short runways in Canada's North without costly changes. Department of National Defence staff criss-crossed the country on Monday, pitching the...

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program took up a lot of real estate in the national and international press and trade media in 2010, and the critical attention will continue into 2011. The sheer size of the program to supply the U.S. military and partner nations with a stealthy and relatively affordable strike fighter, coupled with questions about prime contractor Lockheed Martin’s ability to stick to the schedule and meet cost targets, makes it the No. 1 target of industry speculation. The JSF program, currently in its system development and demonstration (SDD) phase, includes three different variants: the conventional takeoff...

India has no plans as of now to either join the US-led joint strike fighter (JSF) programme or buy the F-35 `Lightning-II' fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) when it finally becomes operational. "We cannot have two types of FGFA. We have already launched preliminary work for our FGFA after inking the $295 million preliminary design contract (PDC) with Russia last month,'' said a top defence ministry official on Friday. This comes in the wake of comments made by a top Pentagon official, undersecretary of defence for acquisition, technology and logistics Ashton Carter, in Washington that the US was open to Indian...

When Canada gets its fleet of 65 F-35 stealth fighter jets, they will all be able to be refuelled mid-flight without buying costly additional equipment, according to Defence Minister Peter MacKay. The controversial jet purchase came under fire again Monday amid media reports Canada's current tanker aircraft can’t work with the F-35 systems. Liberal industry critic Marc Garneau accused the government of "forgetting" about the need to be able to refuel the fighter jets in the air during long flights and suggested Canada will have to spend "hundreds of millions" on new equipment. "It is getting more expensive every day....

Israel seems determined to acquire a fleet of Lockheed Martin's costly F-35 stealth fighters despite the plethora of problems plaguing the development of the fifth-generation jet. A new assessment of Israel's defense challenges indicates why: In the face of improving air defenses in Iran and Syria, Israel's main state adversaries in the Middle East, air superiority is vital in maintaining the Jewish state's qualitative military edge. "Equipping the Israeli air force with the F-35 has strategic importance in terms of deterring the enemy from starting a war and in terms of maintaining Israel's qualitative advantage in the arena," the assessment...

Former Air Force Secretary Mike Wynne wants the Air Force to get rid of large surveillance and reconnasisance aircraft such as AWACS and JSTARS, which are vulnerable to attack because of their huge radar cross-sections, and take the money saved and shove it into the Joint Strike Fighter program. Wynne made his arguments on the website Second Line of Defense, run by the international defense consultant Robbin Laird. I spoke with Wynne this morning. His essential argument is that large aircraft such as these, while possessing excellent capabilities, are so vulnerable in time of war that the enormous amounts of...

Lockheed Martin flew the fifth STOVL F-35B yesterday (Jan 27), taking the number of aircraft in the development flight-test program to 10. The fourth CTOL F-35A, meanwhile, was ferried to Edwards AFB on Jan 22.Under the current plan, two more development aircraft remain to fly, F-35C carrier variants CF-2 and -3. They are expected to ferry to NAS Patuxtent River by June. But construction of a third CV test jet, CF-5, has begun and more aircraft of all three variants will be added to the flight-test program under the replan now being put in place. Lockheed's CEO, Roberts Stevens, told...

Ottawa must carry out its proposed multibillion dollar purchase of American-made F-35 fighter jets or it could risk causing problems in Canadian air force down the road, the defence minister says. Peter MacKay, speaking at a press conference in Ottawa alongside U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, reiterated that buying 65 of the fifth-generation jets will help the Canadian military deal with "unforeseen threats" in future. But scrapping the $16 billion purchase could cause an "operation gap" when the military's current fleet of fighter jets are retired later this decade, if an adequate replacement can't be found in time. The...