F-35 - International Participation

[gf0012-aust]

LM gave them part of it's workshare just as they did to Japan.

Partner workshare was not reduced,

yep, and they are contractually locked in both at the private sector and national govt level of interest.

the canadians will be locked out of any additional work beyond their existing contracts and will not necessarily get extensions or variations of those contracts if they continue their current position - and they can't stall their way through this. One thing all Govts are bad at is trying to beat the private sector at managing contracts

if any of the canadian contracts are volume based rather than just component based then they could lose out if a new buyer argues that they should be getting future work as well as their fleet buys

what it also does is put canadian mil industry companies on notice that contracts with canada are coloured by local politics. and thats a far bigger issue than the local politicians may want to recognise.

stability of govt and honouring commitments has a huge impact within the sector. whether the canGov likes it or not, it raises the spectre that they have become unreliable from that perspective

he may win the local vote but he's already compromised canadian interests with industry

 

[d-ron84]

Great to see all the good news coming out of the US stating both F-35A and B becoming IOC, then I happened to see the News.com.au article
Why do so called 'defence journo's' in Australia constantly belittle defence acquisitions and purposefully misinterpret the information giving!
It's frustrating and annoying.

I'd post a link but I'm still a newbie, but the article is pretty easy to find.

 

[cdxbow]

Great to see all the good news coming out of the US stating both F-35A and B becoming IOC, then I happened to see the News.com.au article
Why do so called 'defence journo's' in Australia constantly belittle defence acquisitions and purposefully misinterpret the information giving!
It's frustrating and annoying.

I'd post a link but I'm still a newbie, but the article is pretty easy to find.

This is the link: Doubts remain as F-35 Strike Fighter declared combat capable

It's the usual News Corp rubbish. For some reason the Murdoch press seems to have had it in for the F35, above and beyond their usual ignorance of defence issues. I regard News Corp as reliable and unbiased as Russia Today.

 

[King Wally]

This is the link: Doubts remain as F-35 Strike Fighter declared combat capable

It's the usual News Corp rubbish. For some reason the Murdoch press seems to have had it in for the F35, above and beyond their usual ignorance of defence issues. I regard News Corp as reliable and unbiased as Russia Today.

.... and I commented as such in their comments section. Why I bothered I don't know.

Regardless it's an exciting milestone for the F35. I can't wait to see how it performs once it gets it's actual combat debut.

 

[weegee]

I came across this on news.com.au this morning. It surprised me as everything about the F35 on this site has been crap so far. I even think they had something last week or the week before stating the usual waste of money, Russian and Chinese are better bla bla bla.

F-35A Australia: Inside our next-gen fighter jet

 

[gf0012-aust]

another stellar example of how deficient defence news reporting is in Oz

I wish Abe was around to educate these muppets (there's a job for Spud )

Joint Strike Fighter: Controversial F-35 to visit Australia at Avalon Air Show - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

 

[the road runner]

I wish Abe was around to educate these muppets (there's a job for Spud )

Miss Abe's contributions ..

Its funny how the ABC left out that Trump also decided to purchase 90 JSF for the USA ! They must be cheery picking info AGAIN!

 

[SpazSinbad]

First Greece will upgrade F-16s to 'F-16 Viper variant' to be compatible with F-35s then....

"...inform the US government of the Greek interest in buying F-35s.... Greece will have to send another letter of request confirming how many of the Lockheed Martin aircraft Athens wants to buy...."

New additions and upgrade for Greek air force fleet | News | ekathimerini.com

 

[John Fedup]

First Greece will upgrade F-16s to 'F-16 Viper variant' to be compatible with F-35s then....

New additions and upgrade for Greek air force fleet | News | ekathimerini.com

Are the Germans co-signing the loan for an eventual F-35 purchase?

 

[SpazSinbad]

There is international participation in F-35 people (pilot/maintainer) training so the story here: F-35 Training Gains Altitude 24 Mar 2017

"A solid training foundation is the bedrock for mission readiness in the 5th Generation of air power. As of March 2017, the F-35 Training System has trained more than 400 pilots and 4,000 maintainers from the U.S. services, international partners and foreign military sales customers....

...The first two U.S. Marine Corps “CAT I” pilots – brand new pilots with no prior fighter experience – have completed F-35 training, and the first U.S. Air Force F-35 basic course pilots are expected to graduate in the fall.

“Contract instructor pilots provide all academic instruction and lead students in executing up to 18 full mission simulator events before live flying begins,” said Ed Waddy, Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Sustainment Program Manager at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida."...

https://www.f35.com/in-depth/detail/f-35-training-gains-altitude

 

[OPSSG]

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), the F-35, the P-8A and the fifth generation airforce.

In a major speech in Washington DC on 11 May 2017 (see link to a 11 page transcript), Air Marshal Leo Davies told the Center for Strategic and International Studies the F-35 would redefine how the Australian Defence Force carried out ‘joint’ operations. The F-35 was reinforcing the relationship between Australia and the US, Davies said. ‘We are technology partners whose capability brings us shared futures.’

Davies described a vision of the RAAF becoming the first ‘fifth generation’ air force able to work intricately with allies in the Asia-Pacific to help perpetuate a rules based order. ‘Freedom of overflight and navigation, for example, symbolise what our regional partners expect of our vision for the future,’ he said. He also said the RAAF should be a strategic technological bridge to Australia’s neighbours. With the insight of a permanent resident, Australia could help the US develop its relationships with nations such as India and Indonesia.

The RAAF’s new Poseidons with their sophisticated, integrated sensors would continue to operate from Malaysian bases on their ‘Gateway’ patrols far up over Asia waters and they’d take allied ‘air rider’ observers with them. In his speech Davis also noted:

'We in Australia can see parts of the sky that you, in the US cannot. Equally, countries such as Japan and Singapore are defined by geographies which drive their regional choices. We therefore have a confluence of commercial capabilities and geography which, if focused, could be strong assets in a mutual development of space and cyber systems.'

 

[John Fedup]

Canada continues its payments to the JSF program. The link also mentions a possible re-think on the "interim jet purchase". Hard to say what junior's thoughts are on the SH and F-35 at this point.

Liberals fork over another $30M to keep Canada at F-35 table | CTV News

 

[t68]

Canada continues its payments to the JSF program. The link also mentions a possible re-think on the "interim jet purchase". Hard to say what junior's thoughts are on the SH and F-35 at this point.

Liberals fork over another $30M to keep Canada at F-35 table | CTV News

Smat move keeps there hand in with manufacturing as per contract, all the while playing bot Lockheed and Boeing off.

I think the problem wit Boeing agains Bombardier will play into Jnr hands as justification for going JSF in the long run as the price will be comparable with all competitor offerings

 

[John Fedup]

Smat move keeps there hand in with manufacturing as per contract, all the while playing bot Lockheed and Boeing off.

I think the problem wit Boeing agains Bombardier will play into Jnr hands as justification for going JSF in the long run as the price will be comparable with all competitor offerings

We can only hope that this is the result, for the sake of the RCAF.

 

[ngatimozart]

The first Japanese assembled F-35A has come off the line at the MHI facility near Nagoya. AX-5 is number 5 out of an order of 42 aircraft with the previous 4 being assembled in the US by LM.

First Made in Japan F-35 rolls out | Australian Aviation

 

[t68]

The first Japanese assembled F-35A has come off the line at the MHI facility near Nagoya. AX-5 is number 5 out of an order of 42 aircraft with the previous 4 being assembled in the US by LM.

First Made in Japan F-35 rolls out | Australian Aviation

Are they building from kit supplied or from scratch?

We did it with the legacy Hornets, a bit surprising goverment didn't look at this option, wonder where economy of scale kicks in?

 

[John Fedup]

Are they building from kit supplied or from scratch

Apparently they are just assembling with foreign parts. Japanese suppliers are understandably disappointed. Had they been a development partner early on, they would be doing better, even if they didn't buy, like one partner which is led by a complete flake.

F-35 fighter jet disappoints Japanese defense industry- Nikkei Asian Review

 

[colay1]

Some googling revealed Japanese participation in supplying components for the F-35 radar as well as for the F135 engine. It looks like the anticipated participation in building aft fuselages under subcontract to BAE did not materialize, most likely because the JG did not grant MHI a subsidy that would have allowed them to compete pricewise. Money was prioritized for the FACO,

 

[John Fedup]

The Spanish military favours the F-35 despite the investment Spain has in the Eurofighter. Understandable considering they need to replace their Harriers if they want to continue using the JC as a STOVL carrier. If another non-partner orders the F-35, it will be more pressure on Canada to smarten up and commit.

Spanish military: Spain’s Air Force and Navy have sights set on new American fighter aircraft | In English | EL PAÃS

 

[StingrayOZ]

Apparently they are just assembling with foreign parts. Japanese suppliers are understandably disappointed. Had they been a development partner early on, they would be doing better, even if they didn't buy, like one partner which is led by a complete flake.

F-35 fighter jet disappoints Japanese defense industry- Nikkei Asian Review

There might be some opportunity for Japan, if Canada doesn't purchase the F-35 or if Turkey um, becomes complicated. Reallocated workshare?