According to the GAO, the "percentage of reliability of the propulsion system is less than half of what is foreseen in the timeline of the Joint Strike Fighter program".
They continue from the GAO. "The technical problems are obvious, the road ahead to reach the objectives of the program is still long. The problems, of different nature, which have put the fleet on the ground on more than one occasion, have led to delays and obvious concerns about the inevitable increase in the cost of production ".
According to the latest report, the F-35 has an average maintenance failures / accidents well above what should be found for the average flight hours performed.
The GAO provides flight data. "The F-35A only flew the 21% of scheduled flight hours, while the F-35B completed the 52% of flight hours."
Pratt & Whitney's defense was not long in coming: “The data is absolutely inaccurate, we have updated the engines that meet the reliability parameters of the United States government. We don't understand how it can be said that our engines are unreliable ”.
They do not think so from the GAO who replied to the P&W note: "Achieving reliability will require more time and more resources than originally planned". The next two months and the expense items reserved for the propulsion system, will sanction the success or failure of the F-35.
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Analyzing the Pratt & Whitney data, some discrepancies with those of the GAO emerge, but only because the additional tests were carried out on the ground. The improvements made - they add by the company - have shown a reliability rate of 147% while the vertical landing variant reaches 119%. But they are still tests on the ground and not in flight.
In addition to the problems on the propulsion system, there would be strong delays in the supply of spare parts to ensure the deployment of the first Marine unit.
45% of the engine is made by outside firms not attributable to Pratt & Whitney. The current availability of spare parts would not be able to keep up with the production (at a reduced rate) of the F-35.
Meanwhile, within the next few weeks, the F-35 will have to demonstrate that it has successfully passed the "61 non-compliance" found in the last inspection of the Inspector General of the Department of Defense.
For Lockheed Martin all the improvements have been made, but not yet validated by the Department of Defense.
F-35: Marine fighter
The Marines who will be flying from the F-35 next July will not be able to use night vision technology and will be able to carry four bombs or missiles internally. This is what emerges from the first final assessment of the US Department of Defense delivered to the Chamber.
"Overall, the first version that will go into service with the Marine will not match the same capabilities as the A-10 Thunderbolt that the F-35 would have to replace. If the F-35 were employed in night missions, pilots would not be able to see clearly due to the software and hardware limitations of the current viewer. "
"The so-called Block 2B version, that is going to the Marine next July, will stand on the battlefield for up to thirty minutes, carrying only four weapons. The standard internal configuration will be two short-range bombs and two medium-range missiles. "
According to the Department of Defense's assessment, future versions will have better capabilities, but the tests to deal with (and overcome) are still several.
According to the DoD, future versions of the F-35 will also have a limited range (estimated in just thirty minutes on the battlefield) due to the current propulsion system. It should be noted that the Marine F-35 will also be without a cannon. The connection code between the aircraft's mainframe and the 25 mm GAU-22 / A quick-fire cannon has not yet been written. For a "sbadataggine" it was decided to implement the cannon fire software only in the fifth data block available in the 2019. In the 6 Block of the F-35 software, foreseen in the 2019, further improvements to the engine are planned, but a new one is being planned.
According to the head of the F-35 development program for the Air Force, Jeffrey Harrigian, each new engine will cost 15 million dollars. The Pentagon should buy 2443 Joint Strike Fighter for a total cost of 400 billion dollars (the whole program will cost 1500 billions of dollars), the 70 percent more than the original projections and for a larger number of aircraft, while the 10 countries allies will buy 721 hunting.
The Air Force will reach the initial operational capability of the F-35A as soon as the first squadron consisting of 12-24 aircraft has been formed, with airmen and crews trained and able to carry out close air support missions, interdiction and limited suppression and destruction of enemy antiaircraft defenses. The F-35A will reach full initial operational capacity between August and December of the 2016.
The Marine Body equipped with the F-35B will reach initial operational capability as soon as the first 10-16 aircraft squadron has been formed, with infantry and trained crew to carry out close missions, interceptions, armed reconnaissance missions and support with land forces. The F-35B will achieve full initial operational capability between July and December of the 2015.
Us Navy, finally equipped with the F-35C, will achieve full initial operational capability as soon as the first 10 airplane squadron has been formed with personnel trained and trained military personnel and pilots. The F-35C will achieve full initial operational capability between August 2018 and February 2019.
Franco Iacch
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(US Navy photo)
