F-35 Lightning II

[Milites]

Fuego amigo últimamente les ha caído un poco de la comisión de la Cámara de Representantes y del pez gordo ese de la USAF y la parábola del Ferrari y la compra.

Lo de pingüino está muy bien.

Enviado desde mi SM-J610FN mediante Tapatalk

[champi]

Respecto a los costes de mantenimiento, este verano publicarán su estrategia de sostenimiento para acercarse a los $25.000 por hora de vuelo: https://www.airforcemag.com/f-35-sustai ... is-summer/

April 26, 2021 | By John A. Tirpak

The F-35 Joint Program Office will deliver a sustainment strategy for the Joint Strike Fighter this summer, with a sequenced plan that moves toward achieving—but probably doesn’t reach—a cost per flying hour of $25,000 by 2025, Program Executive Officer Lt. Gen. Eric T. Fick told Congress on April 22.
...
The three one-year sustainment deals have cost targets “intended to drive us toward $25K by ’25,” Fick said. “Will it get us there by itself? No. But the … cost per flight hour on ’21-’23 [will] move us down that path.”

The $25,000 figure is in 2012 dollars. The current-dollar cost per flying hour of the F-35A is $41,300. Lockheed is responsible for 39 percent of the sustainment cost; the rest is borne by engine maker Pratt & Whitney, the services, and some other vendors.

Lockheed aeronautics Executive Vice President Gregory M. Ulmer told the panel the company has reduced its share of the cost per flying hour by 40 percent so far, and will lower it another 40 percent over the next “three to four years.”

“Demand reduction” translates to higher-quality parts that break less often, but Air Force F-35 Integration Office Director Brig. Gen. David W. Abba told the committee the “break rate” of aircraft is only four percent per sortie. Newer aircraft are far more reliable and have much better mission capable rates than early-manufacture aircraft.

Fick also noted that the JPO is working with the services to determine if another layer of sustainment between the flight line and the depot is needed, noting the Navy having achieved success in accelerating parts repair using this “intermediate” support level. As a cost-saving measure, intermediate level maintenance was dropped early in the program.

Ulmer also reported that his understanding is that the Air Force only plans to retrofit aircraft from Lot 11 and beyond to the Block 4 configuration, which will require modifications and an update to the Tech Refresh 3 standard, which includes new processors, electronic warfare, and a large cockpit display.
...

[Pathfinder]

Respecto a los costes de mantenimiento, este verano publicarán su estrategia de sostenimiento para acercarse a los $25.000 por hora de vuelo: https://www.airforcemag.com/f-35-sustai ... is-summer/

April 26, 2021 | By John A. Tirpak

The F-35 Joint Program Office will deliver a sustainment strategy for the Joint Strike Fighter this summer, with a sequenced plan that moves toward achieving—but probably doesn’t reach—a cost per flying hour of $25,000 by 2025, Program Executive Officer Lt. Gen. Eric T. Fick told Congress on April 22.
...
The three one-year sustainment deals have cost targets “intended to drive us toward $25K by ’25,” Fick said. “Will it get us there by itself? No. But the … cost per flight hour on ’21-’23 [will] move us down that path.”

The $25,000 figure is in 2012 dollars. The current-dollar cost per flying hour of the F-35A is $41,300. Lockheed is responsible for 39 percent of the sustainment cost; the rest is borne by engine maker Pratt & Whitney, the services, and some other vendors.

Lockheed aeronautics Executive Vice President Gregory M. Ulmer told the panel the company has reduced its share of the cost per flying hour by 40 percent so far, and will lower it another 40 percent over the next “three to four years.”

“Demand reduction” translates to higher-quality parts that break less often, but Air Force F-35 Integration Office Director Brig. Gen. David W. Abba told the committee the “break rate” of aircraft is only four percent per sortie. Newer aircraft are far more reliable and have much better mission capable rates than early-manufacture aircraft.

Fick also noted that the JPO is working with the services to determine if another layer of sustainment between the flight line and the depot is needed, noting the Navy having achieved success in accelerating parts repair using this “intermediate” support level. As a cost-saving measure, intermediate level maintenance was dropped early in the program.

Ulmer also reported that his understanding is that the Air Force only plans to retrofit aircraft from Lot 11 and beyond to the Block 4 configuration, which will require modifications and an update to the Tech Refresh 3 standard, which includes new processors, electronic warfare, and a large cockpit display.
...

No me cuadran esos 41.000 dólares, la última cifra dada por el fabricante eran 36.000 dólares/hora. Entiendo que dólares 2020, quizás ahí venga el desajuste de datos.

Si esos 36.000 óolares fuesen de 2020. En 2025 la cifra a alcanzar sería de unos 32.000 dólares (inflación inclúida), cifra que no parece complicada a primera vista y esto sin el ODIN que se supone reducirá bastante el coste/hora una vez implementado y trabajando según lo que preveen.



Ahora bien, esa cifra les vale? si les vale, no hay motivo para tanta queja, y sino les vale, entonces no es un problema del coste del avión porque más abajo no va ir, sino que necesitan más fondos para mantener cazas de nueva generación. Si lo que se desea es algo más económico para complementar, es entendible que miren algo tipo coreano, pero eso sí, sin las capacidades del F-35 o F-22. Los milagros a Lourdes.

[Pathfinder]

Es que el precedente del F22 es precisamente una muestra clara de que si los presupuestos no llegan se puede meter un recorte del 60% de las previsiones y a otra cosa. Porque ese es el problema de estos programas, se hacen en base a unas previsiones económicas que casi nunca se cumplen, motivo por el que también casi siempre se reducen números. Yo veo muy dificil que con el F35 no pase lo mismo, la duda es más si la redución de la flota prevista va a rondr el 30% o el 60% pero tendrán que reducir números como por otro lado está sucediendo con casi todos los grandes programas de defensa de la esfera occidental en las últimas dos décadas. F35 está en ese proceso, simplemente se ha esperado a cerrar un buen puñado de exportaciones para empezar a concretarlo.
Cuando LM habla de reducir la hora de vuelo a 25000 hay que tener en cuenta varias cosas: 1º sucedería suponiendo que se respeten las previsiones de adquisiciones originales, 2º hablan de dólares de 2012, 3º sucedería suponiendo que se cumplan sus escenarios previstos de optimización de presupuesto, es decir que den carta blanca a LM para hacer y deshacer a su antojo (algo que es imposible porque la administración de turno tiene que justificar sus gastos e ir sacando partidas de forma justificada) 4º seguro que saben que incluso cumpliéndose los condicionantes es imposible, dicen 25000 porque en su día se dijo 25000, en el mejor de los escenarios podría ser digamos 30000. pero pueden seguir diciendo 25000 porque saben que para la administración es imposible cumplir las condiciones bajo las que LM dice que serían 25000.
Al margen queda la ambigüedad con la que se manejan las cifras de previsión de gasto con la cadena optmizada y las de gasto real a día de hoy. Cuando se dice "actualmente estamos en 35000" hay que tener en cuenta que posiblemente no se refiere a lo que cuesta la hora de vuelo hoy, si no a lo que se espera cueste la hora de vuelo. cuando se dice en 2025 estaremos en 25000, bien podríamos estar en los mismo, previsiones para cuando la cadena esté engrasada. Y ojo, al menos se dan cifras, pero se dan de aquella manera y es indudable que LM arrima el ascua a su sardina, como no podría ser de otra manera.
Si miramos el artículo de Vorlon donde LM habla a sus accionistas de beneficios, nos habla no solo de beneficios de fabricación (que posiblemente ahí tengan relativamente poco margen) sino también de beneficios en el mantenimiento y la actualización.
Después de leer esas declaraciones veo difícil pensar que todos estos países que están comprando cazas a 140 millones la pieza, estén cerrando ahí su ciclo de gasto en la herramienta. Los próximos años nos contarán más del tema, imagino que para mantener los costes en algo razonable se abrirá la veda a ventas como las de EAU la duda es cuántas ventas de ese estilo pueden quedar y si serán suficientes para reducir los costes.

Esa es la duda que me queda dado el link aportado por Champi. Hay datos que aparecen que no expresan claramente a qué año pertenecen esos dólares.

[14yellow14]

Respecto a los costes, hace nada vi esto

In 2019 using then year dollars, the F-35 fleet average cost per flight hour was $42,400 and the cost per tail per year was $7.9 million. In constant year 2012 dollars, the most recent F-35 JPO actual cost per flight hour data is $38,300 and cost per tail per year is $7.5 million averaged across all F-35 variants. Further more, and also in constant year 2012 dollars, the U.S. Air Force’s F-35A 2020 actuals show the cost per flight hour was $33,300 and cost per tail per year was $7.0 million.

Y sobre la disponibilidad:

Availability

Last year, the overall Mission Capability rate for the F-35 Fleet continued its steady rise, increasing to an annual average of 68 percent through November, an improvement of 5.4 percent from calendar year 2019, while flying nearly 94,000 hours, which was over 18,000 more hours than in the year prior.

In October 2020, USAF F-35As completed 18 months of continuous Middle East combat, flying roughly 4,000 combat sorties and 20,000 combat hours, and employing just shy of 400 weapons while maintaining a 74 percent Fully Mission Capable rate. At this stage in F-35 fleet maturity, our production line is stable, and aircraft rolling offthe line are performing well.

https://docs.house.gov/meetings/AS/AS25 ... 210422.pdf

[Atticus]

Ni le doy ni le quitó la razón. Pero este hombre se retiró de la Marina hace 20 años o incluso mucho más.

Parodiando el cuento. Cuando ese hombre se retiro de la marina, el pingüino ya estaba ahi. La cuestion es que dice verdades como puños. Pero sobre todo esta la cuestion de que no todo el mundo profesional loa al bicho. Que cada dia hay mas disconformes. De hecho, "clamor soterrado en contra" es una expresion que podriamos empezar a usar.

esto sin el ODIN que se supone reducirá bastante el coste/hora una vez implementado y trabajando según lo que preveen.

En el articulo del retirado dice que el ODIN tambien se ha parado por costes. De todas manera, lo de la reduccion de costes es obvio. Es algo que publican cada tres meses mas o menos. Fijate si es obvio. Dentro de tres meses volveran a prometer que baja. Por eso no os preocupeis.

[14yellow14]

Will the F35 CTOL make it to $25K cost per flying hour by 2025?

Well, in a simplistic model I built of the cost trends, the answer is... YES in BY 2012 dollars, but NO in TY dollars. Of course, it is BY 2012 that's the target.

Criticize away.

https://acquisitiontalk.com/2021/04/wil ... ur-target/

https://twitter.com/AcqTalk/status/1387093202696609793

[champi]

Otro contrato más (27/4/2021): https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contra ... e/2587188/

...
NAVY

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $22,500,165 modification (P00005) to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N0001920C0026). This modification adds scope to provide support required to establish the common reprogramming tool development network and selection of a service-oriented architecture for the development of enhanced reprogramming tools, which is essential for all standing labs in support of the F-35 aircraft for the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and non-Department of Defense participants. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (90%); and Eglin Air Force Base, Florida (10%), and is expected to be completed in December 2021. Fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $4,248,092; and fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation (Air Force) funds in the amount of $3,405,332 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
...

[14yellow14]

Más cosillas sobre la situación actual del F-35 en EEUU

[Gen. Eric Fick] said that both mission capable rates (MC) and fully mission capable rates (FMC) have gotten better. (MC means what percentage of aircraft on the flightline can perform at least one of the F-35’s various missions, Fick explained, and FMC means what percentage can undertake all the missions their unit has assigned them.)

“We have been seeing increases both MC and FMC increases between 2019 and 2020. And they’re not insignificant,” Fick said. “Across the fleet, and we saw the average in 2019 go from 63.2% from an MC perspective to 68.5%.” Fleet FMC, he added, has gone from 33.5% to just shy of 37% — a number that he called “still unsatisfying,” but nonetheless one that is “moving in the right direction.”

Fick elaborated that those cross-fleet numbers hide a vast disparity among the services.

The Air Force is seeing the best readiness numbers, he said, with an MC of above 73%, and an FMC of above 54%. Those represent “10% jumps over last year.”

On the other hand, the Navy and the Marine Corps readiness rates are pretty dismal. “As a matter of fact, I think we step backwards just a little bit with the Navy this past year — from just over 59 to just under 59 percent from an MC perspective,” Fick said.

Fick and Lockheed Martin’s Greg Ulmer both reassured lawmakers that sustainment costs also are going in the right direction (i.e., down). Between 2019 and 2020, the F-35A’s cost per flying hour decreased by 10%, Fick said, from $37,000 per flight hour to $33,300 per flight hour in base year 2012 dollars.

https://breakingdefense.com/2021/04/dod ... -lockheed/

[Tercio norte]

el cambio dolar 2012 a dolar 2021 es 1'15, por lo que los 33.000$ 2012 son cerca de 38.000$ actuales, ni critico y alabo, solo por ponerlo en contexto y dar la cifra actualizada.

[champi]

Contrato para la integración del JSM noruego en el F-35A (30/4/2021): https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contra ... e/2591938/

...
Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $57,364,337 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N0001919C0010). This modification adds scope to provide for the integration, testing and initial certification of the Norwegian Joint Strike Missile on the F-35A aircraft. Additionally, this modification provides early software development efforts to implement universal armament interface revision-five architecture in support of the United Kingdom’s Select Precision Effects At-Range Capability Three on the F-35B aircraft. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in July 2024. Non-U.S. Department of Defense participant funds in the amount of $57,364,337 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
...

También hay una RFP para hangares/áreas para el F-35 en Tyndall (30/4/2021): https://beta.sam.gov/opp/4e5f595a9a8b4e ... c107e/view

...
This acquisition will consist of the construction of 11 facilities within the Flightline area of Tyndall AFB, FL, known as Zone 1 – F-35 Flightline Facilities. These facilities are: OPS/Aircraft Maintenance Unit Hangar 1, OPS/AMU/Hangar 2, OPS/AMU/Hangar 3, F-35 Parking Apron, F-35 Flight Simulator, F-35 Squadron Maintenance Complex, OG/MXG HQ, Maintenance Fuel Cell Hangar, Weapons Load Training Hangar, F-35 AGE Facility and Corrosion Control Facility. Facilities include all utilities, site improvements, pavements, detection/protection features, security enhancements and other supporting work necessary to make complete and usable facilities.
...

Para los curiosos, en el enlace se especifican la superficie, descripción y funcionalidad de cada uno de esos 11 edificios y áreas.

Los italianos despliegan el F-35 en Estonia: https://www.itamilradar.com/2021/05/01/ ... n-estonia/

Es curioso teniendo el Eurofighter, que para QRA les sobra. De todos modos, si mal no recuerdo, ya lo hicieron en Islandia.

[champi]

Los británicos llevarán sus F-35B a la operación Shader a bordo del Queen Elizabeth: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/f-35 ... rike-group

[champi]

Otro pequeño contrato (4/5/202): https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contra ... e/2595640/

...
Western Metal Supply Co. Inc., Escondido, California, has been awarded a $9,399,778 contract for the design and build of F-35A aircraft shelters. This contract provides for design, manufacture, and installation of F-35A aircraft shelters. Work will be performed at Royal Air Force (RAF) Lakenheath, U.K., and is expected to be completed June 30, 2022. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and two offers were received. Fiscal 2020 other procurement funds in the full amount of are being obligated at the time of award. The 48th Contracting Squadron, RAF Lakenheath, U.K., is the contracting activity (FA5587-21-F-0119).
...

[Pathfinder]

Algunos datos de interés :

https://i.postimg.cc/zv4TvLZW/Captura-d ... 220320.jpg

https://www.f35.com/content/dam/lockhee ... 5_2021.pdf

>645 aviones entregados a día de hoy.

[Orel]

Por primera vez el F-35 participando en la Baltic Air Policing, de la mano de los italianos. Buena práctica y entrenamiento para sus tripulaciones y personal de apoyo:
https://twitter.com/JanesINTEL/status/1 ... 5188419584
https://twitter.com/MReu134/status/1389301850009227264