F-35 fighter jet is ‘a turkey, not good at anything’ – military expert

[David Icke Bot]

F-35 fighter jet is ‘a turkey, not good at anything’ – military expert

https://www.davidicke.com/article/419380/f-35-fighter-jet-turkey-not-good-anything-military-expert

[David Icke Bot]

UK losing millions on flawed F-35 fighter jets: Report

BY ANDREW CHEETHAM ON 18 JULY 2017 GMT
https://www.davidicke.com/article/419837/uk-losing-millions-flawed-f-35-fighter-jets-report



‘The British Royal Air Force (RAF) is spending millions of pounds on flawed F-35 Lightning II jets that it might never be able to fly properly, a new report has revealed.

Setbacks and hidden costs have driven the unit price of each jet to around £153 million, way higher than Lockheed Martin’s asking price of between £77 million and £100 million, ­The Times reported Monday.

The British daily suggested that besides the already overblown price, the taxpayers would also be required to pay for extra services such as software upgrades, spare parts and “cost reduction initiatives” buried deep in Lockheed’s contracts.

This is while according to a former senior RAF officer, the aircraft was still suffering from “utterly pathetic” software bugs and technical setbacks.

The UK has put in orders for 138 units. Forty-eight of those will be of the F-35B variant, which can take off and land vertically.

However, the report noted that four of the aircraft purchased so far are too heavy and cannot perform the function safely.’




Read more: UK losing millions on flawed F-35 fighter jets: Report



This jet fighter is a disaster, but Congress keeps buying it

[EvadingGrid]

RT
MPs demand truth on hidden costs of £150bn F-35 warplane deal

[poseidonlost]

Just stick with the Harrier and update it a bit. Those things would've been the terror of the whole world if the US had purchased/produced them at the rate y'all did.

Every "'Merica/Turn it into glass" person over here in the States I know are not happy with this thing. Everyone knows it's trash already.

[David Icke Bot]

Sputnik News
http://sputniknews.com/


Corrosion Issues Spur Pentagon to Halt F-35 Deliveries
http://sputniknews.com/military/201711021058770993-corrosion-spur-pentagon-halt-f-35/





'The US Defense Department refused to accept the delivery of F-35s from September 21 to October 20 after finding “corrosion exceeding technical limits” around fasteners holding the planes’ exterior coatings to their airframes, company and government officials said Wednesday.

"All F-35 deliveries to our customers were temporarily suspended by the F-35 Joint Program Office" from September 21 until October 20, Lockheed announced Wednesday. Lockheed delivered 46 F-35s to the Pentagon in 2016 and was expected to drop off 66 more aircraft in 2017. The Pentagon said the delivery pause would not impact how many F-35s are accepted this year.

Lockheed Martin initiated a review to determine how many of the 250 jets that have already been produced for the US military suffer from the same issue.

The corrosion problem is just one of the many problems already plaguing the F-35. Previously, the $1.5 trillion dollar jet program has worked through issues including engine fires, unsafe helmets that can snap pilots' necks, pilots experiencing hypoxia, flawed ejection seats, and being incapable of flying through thunderstorms. In September 2016 the US Air Force announced that insulation lining the jet's fuel tanks was "peeling and crumbling."'



Read More : Corrosion Issues Spur Pentagon to Halt F-35 Deliveries


Icke

[David Icke Bot]

Impossible to predict costs of F-35 and numbers may fall, MPs hear

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/21/impossible-predict-costs-f-35-numbers-may-fall-mps-hear/


'Rising costs may force the Ministry of Defence to cut its planned order of 138 stealth jets, officials have suggested for the first time.

MPs on the Commons defence committee heard it was impossible to accurately forecast the costs of the F-35 programme. As costs become clearer as they enter service, the MoD would “make adjustments in our programme accordingly”.

The plan to buy the new jets is the MoD’s second biggest weapons programme, after replacing the nuclear deterrent.

The 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review declared Britain would “maintain our plan to buy 138 F35 Lightning aircraft” over the coming decades.

The plane is considered the most advanced combat jet ever and will fly from the new aircraft carriers as well as from RAF bases.

Britain has already signed a contract for the first batch of 48, which are estimated to cost £9.1bn by 2025, including support such as training and maintenance.'


Read more: Impossible to predict costs of F-35 and numbers may fall, MPs hear



Last Edit by Humphrey

[David Icke Bot]

It flies, and it snoops: Norway’s pricey F-35s caught sending ‘sensitive data’ to US

https://www.rt.com/news/410923-norway-f35-sensitive-data-us/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome


'Norway’s new F-35 fighter jets boast an impressive array of high-tech gadgetry, but Norwegian defense officials were surprised to learn of one unadvertised feature: the pricey plane relays sensitive data back to its US manufacturer, Lockheed Martin.

The Royal Norwegian Air Force recently received the first three of the 40 F-35 fighter jets it ordered from Lockheed Martin. Major General Morten Klevar, the director of Norway’s F-35 program, has described the fabled fighter jet as “crucial to the continued modernization of our armed forces and our ability to preserve Norwegian and allied security and interests.”

But while pouring billions of dollars into the troubled jet, the Scandinavian nation may have got more than it bargained for.

Norway is the first foreign country to acquire the F-35 mission data file from the US Air Force’s (USAF) 53rd Electronic Warfare Group’s Partner Support Complex – software which allows the aircraft to perform its primary missions and provides the pilot with “an extraordinary situational awareness”. But Norwegian defense officials soon discovered that their fancy fleet of F-35s also automatically transmit sensitive data to Lockheed Martin’s servers in Fort Worth, Texas, after each flight.

“Due to national considerations, there is a need for a filter where the user nations can exclude sensitive data from the data stream that is shared by the system with the manufacturer Lockheed Martin,” said Defense Ministry senior consultant Lars Gjemble, as cited by Norway’s ABC Nyheter.'


Read more: It flies, and it snoops: Norway’s pricey F-35s caught sending ‘sensitive data’ to US



Last Edit by Gladstone

[David Icke Bot]

The Daily Telegraph

MOD's failure to give F-35 stealth jet costs is 'wholly unacceptable' say MPs
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/18/mods-failure-give-f-35-stealth-jet-costs-wholly-unacceptable/
[br


Icke
.



Last Edit by Gladstone

[David Icke Bot]

The Daily Mail

Bombshell report finds some F35 fighter jets will only fly for a QUARTER of their expected life because of 'major structural issues'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6658797/US-F35-fighter-jets-fly-QUARTER-expected-life-structural-issues.html





'A Pentagon report is warning that the U.S. Marine Corps' oldest F-35B Joint Strike Fighters could remain airworthy for just over a quarter of their expected lifespan due to 'serious structural problems'.

According to Bloomberg one early version of the jet, known as 'early block F' and bought by the Marine Corps, could fly for just 2,100 flight hours, which the report says is 'well under' the expected service life of 8,000 hours.

The plane has been hit by a huge list of issues, and is over a decade late, with final cost estimates for the US military expected to reach $1.5 trillion. It is being tested by military forces around the globe, with the Royal Air Force already having taken delivery of its test planes, known as the Lightning.

Although the structural issues are believed to affect only a small number of planes, the Pentagon test office 2018 annual report obtained by Bloomberg also found a huge host of flaws in all versions of the fighter, ranging from cybersecurity issues to 'unacceptable' problems with the accuracy of guns fitted to the Air Force's A version of the plane.

The finding means some jets expected to start hitting service life limit in 2026.

Bloomberg claims the report also said maintenance personnel and pilots 'must deal w pervasive problems w data integrity, completeness on a daily basis.'

Test office director Robert Behler said in the new assessment improvements 'are still not translating into improved availability'.

He also warns there is no 'improving trend in' aircraft availability to fly training or combat missions as it's remained 'flat' over the past 3 years, according to Bloomberg.

The details come a day after Defense Sec. Pat Shanahan told reporters the F-35 'has a lot of opportunity for more performance.'

Lockheed Martin, who manufactures the F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, hit back at the report, claiming 'The F-35s operating today are delivering exceptional capability, lethality and connectivity around the globe.'



Read More : Bombshell report finds some F35 fighter jets will only fly for a QUARTER of their expected life because of 'major structural issues'


Icke




Last Edit by Gladstone

[David Icke Bot]

Pentagon doesn't really know how $2.1 BILLION was spent on F-35 parts – watchdog



The US military failed to account for 3.45 million pieces of government property – parts and equipment for F-35s, according to a new report issued by the Department of Defense's (DoD) Office of Inspector General. Pentagon officials have "failed to implement procedures, and failed to appoint and hold officials responsible, to account for and manage government property for more than 16 years."

Lacking the paperwork and even people to hold responsible for the blunder, the Pentagon has no actual idea how much the aforementioned pile of parts cost, and has to simply trust the word of the main contractor – Lockheed Martin – and its subcontractors, according to the report. The corporation valued the parts at $2.1 billion.

"The DoD does not know the actual value of the F 35 property and does not have an independent record to verify the contractor valued Government property of $2.1 billion for the F-35 Program."

While the sum itself is not that big – given the total acquisition cost of the F-35 program, exceeding $400 billion – such a lack of accountability can further damage the ill-fated fifth-generation fighter program, already been plagued by numerous technical issues.'


Icke




Last Edit by Gladstone