Flying Pig Update for 6.19.2014

[unhappycamper]

http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/06/16/stephen-fuhr-the-f-35-is-totally-unaffordable-and-cant-do-what-was-promised/

Stephen Fuhr: The F-35 is totally unaffordable and can’t do what was promised
June 16, 2014. 1:13 pm • Section: Opinion

KELOWNA — Proceeding with the decision to sole source F-35 fighter jets for the Royal Canadian Air Force is irresponsible and flies in the face of fiscal conservatism. Currently, we are waiting for the results from a special panel of “experts” commissioned by the Harper government’s National Fighter Procurement Secretariat.

The media is reporting it’s highly likely that this panel will recommend the government proceed with its sole sourcing of the F-35 as recommended by the Department of national Defence to Public Works and Government Services Canada. This decision was originally justified with an infamous 160-word memo that preceded a complete statement of “Canadian” operational requirements.

The facts: The F-35 is already seven years behind schedule and is many billions of dollars over budget. The United States Director of Operational Test and Evaluation report indicates significant technical problems with the aircraft’s software and other aircraft systems.

To keep the project moving, several performance requirements have been reduced to below the minimum acceptable as originally demanded by the Joint Operations Requirements Document.


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http://gizmodo.com/the-f-35-fleet-was-grounded-again-for-the-bajillionth-1591484262

The F-35 Fleet Was Grounded Again for the Bajillionth Time
Adam Clark Estes
Monday 2:36pm

The Pentagon grounded its very expensive and very problematic F-35 fleet over the weekend due to an apparent engine oil leak. Within a day or so, the military inspected all 104 of the jets, three of which did not pass the tests. The rest are now back in the air.

This sort of thing happens with unreasonable frequency. By our latest count, this is the seventh time the entire fleet's been grounded, but it could be even more. It's hard to keep track since this happens all the time. This time is extra embarrassing for the military, not to mention the jet manufacturer Lockheed Martin, because the incident affected one of the new F-35B Joint Strike Fighters, a variant scheduled to make its big international debut on July 4. It's also supposed to be the first F-35 jet declared to be combat ready. It does not seem particularly combat ready.

While all combat fighters suffer setbacks, this program seems particularly doomed. Not only is the total price tag hundreds of billions of dollars over budget—it was already over a trillion dollars to begin with—but the expected delivery date of the first jets has been pushed back by over a year. At this point, people aren't just asking if the program's been mismanaged. They're asking whether the F-35 is simply fundamentally flawed.

The naysayers have a good case. It's becoming increasingly clear that the problems in testing are just a sign of what's to come if the jets make it into active combat. Some estimate that the F-35 will cost up to $40,000 an hour to operate—and that's if everything works like it's supposed to. As our friends at Foxtrot Alpha point out, it's not just the cost that's a problem either.


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http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/17/us-lockheed-fighter-mccain-idUSKBN0ES01E20140617

McCain questions 'cronyism' on Lockheed F-35 program
By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON Mon Jun 16, 2014 8:36pm EDT

(Reuters) - Republican Senator John McCain on Monday said he was concerned by recent revelations of U.S. government-industry "cronyism" in developing Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 fighter jet, and said the $398.6 billion program still had "major problems."

McCain, a key member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he had long been troubled by the Pentagon's payment of 85-percent or higher award fees to Lockheed on the F-35 program despite cost increases and schedule delays, adding the background to those decisions was "disturbing."

Former Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter last month said the Pentagon's F-35 program manager told him he had kept the fees high because he liked the Lockheed executive in charge, and the company official had said he would be fired if the fees fell below 85 percent.

Carter, who was the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer at the time, made the remarks at a university event on May 16 and they were reported by InsideDefense.com on May 30.


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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-17/lockheed-f-35-bulkhead-cracks-solution-proposed.html

Lockheed F-35 Bulkhead Cracks Solution Proposed
By Tony Capaccio 2014-06-17T19:20:04Z

Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) and the Pentagon say a fix has been found that should prevent more bulkhead cracks on the Marine Corps version of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the costliest U.S. weapons program.

On-the-ground stress testing may resume as soon as Sept. 30, officials said. It was suspended this past September after inspections found cracks in three of six bulkheads on a plane used for such tests.

The suspension increased scrutiny of the Marines’ F-35B, the most complex of three versions because it is intended to take off like a conventional fighter and land like a helicopter. The Lockheed-built plane, which the U.K. and Italy also are buying, is supposed to be declared combat-ready next year.

“They think they’ve got the root cause,” Frank Kendall, the Pentagon’s chief weapons buyer, said in an interview. “They’ve got a process that they want to implement that they believe will fix the problem for the existing jets.


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http://www.thestarphoenix.com/value+oversold/9953325/story.html

F-35 value oversold
By Celyn Dufay, The Starphoenix June 19, 2014 4:37 AM

The F-35 has been criticized for its single engine, slowness, lack of agility and massive price tag. The main competitor to Lockheed-Martin's F-35 is Boeing's F-18 Super Hornet. The Hornet's combat proven twin-engined jet matches the F-35 in speed, but outperforms its competitor in range and manoeuvrability. It will also save Canadian taxpayers $23 billion.

MacPherson says that Canada needs the best jet, and only the F-35 can deliver stealth performance, integrated technologies and radar evasion against opposing systems. However, no plane is invisible, and new radar systems are always in development. Recent reports question the F-35's ability to remain undetected by radar systems being developed in China and Russia.

A new report released by the Rideau Institute and CCPA says the greatest risk attached to flying the F-35 in Canada is the lives of Canadian pilots. MacPherson says modern single-engine jets are as safe or better than twin-engined jets, though data from the U.S. air force Safety Centre say otherwise.

MacPherson is correct, however, that "Generations of Canadian fighter pilots have learned the value of the best, sometimes the hard way."

[GeorgeGist]

1. This pig needs more ...

lipstick.

[corkhead]

2. MIC graft is nothing new...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_H-4_Hercules

[Pragmaticthinker]

3. The F-35 is not reliable no matter how many engines it has.

Until the F-35 can fly up to Canada and prove it can perform the required missions for Canada reliably and cost effectively (not a hope in hell) Canada should not buy this flying travesty. Numbers are vague but there are just too many unknowns with this jet. Especially in the reliability and costs issues.

[arcane1]

4. I become increasingly convinced it's not supposed to be successful. Just expensive.

Like the missile shield: welfare for defense contractors.

[Agschmid]

5. Cha-ching.