In a few hours the first F-35 squadron of the US Air Force will be declared operational. The declaration of Initial Operational Capacity will take place exactly one year after being approved for the Marine B version.
The first squadron will consist of twelve F-35A fighters. 21 the pilots of the 34 ° Fighter Squadron enabled for the operational version A based in Hill Air Force Base. The commander of Air Combat Command, General Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle, will sign the IOC (Initial Operational Capability) certification. The twelve fighters, as happened for those of the Marines, have been modified with respect to those currently deployed. The implemented changes will be part of the future production line.
Last June, for the first time, the F-35 deployed at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, flew without being plagued by glitch in the software. The tests confirmed greater stability with the improvements made to the updated 3i software which, up until a few weeks ago, involved restarting the systems every three hours, after switching off the on-board systems without warning. According to data released by the 34 ° Fighter Squadron which carried the F-35 to Idaho, 88 sorties were carried out with zero anomalies caused by possible instability in the software.
The seven F-35As deployed from the 6 to the 17 last June, carried out several tests. The window useful for IOC certification, to respect the JSF timeline, was five months with the 31 December deadline. The USAF, therefore, will declare the tactical fighter operational, exactly one year after the Marines. The F-35A which will be declared operational in a few hours, runs on the 3ib6.21 software: it is considered the most stable ever loaded on the fifth generation platform. The tests performed to date have not revealed any degradation in the systems due to software instability. Although a simple update of the previous one, the 3ib6.21 was instrumental in declaring the Initial Operational Capacity.
Last February, the F-35A software was a disaster. Only one aircraft out of six managed to get up in the air, but only after numerous restarts of the main software. Symptoms of too immature software.
Once declared operational and, in theory, ready for combat, although with the limitations of the software, we will discover the details of the tests performed, with the evaluation of the Operational Test and Evaluation. It is ignored, for example, if the 3ib6.21 has managed the entire final flow of the system and if the F-35A have interfaced with theAutonomic Logistics Information System.
It should be noted that the final tests, which should confirm the start of the F-35 serial production, will take place within the 2018, with a delay of at least six months compared to what was previously estimated. The F-35, therefore, will not get the "full combat capability" up to the 2018.
The goal was half of the 2017 - said Frank Kendall, undersecretary for the Pentagon acquisition - it is now clear that this non-timing cannot be respected.
What is termed Initial Operational Test and Evaluation, IOT & E, will involve 23 F-35s with software and hardware capabilities based on the final block 3F. As we had previously stated, the optimization of the unstable 2B and 3i software took longer than expected, an estimate later confirmed by the Program Executive Office in a written report delivered to the Armed Forces Commission of the Chamber. Inevitable, therefore, that the tests on the Block 3F were postponed by six months. The latter is an indicative date as we are talking about calendar year 2018. The Block 3i software was delivered for flight tests exactly one year ago, in support of the Air Force IOC declaration.
Throughout the 2016 further updates are expected until the completion of the 3F scheduled by the end of the phase System Development and Demonstration Program (SDD), in support of the US Navy IOC declaration expected for 2018 and the start of the IOT & E operational assessment phase (Initial Operational Test and Evaluation). The Pentagon reiterates that no difficulties are expected for the Initial Operational Capacity of the Navy that "remains programmed to the 2018 / 2019".
The problems related to software and their integration into the final flow, as we have repeatedly noted, are very serious. This is a software anomaly caused by an unpredictable error, which interferes with the F-81 radar's AN / APG-35 AESA radar capability. It is therefore a misalignment between the timing of the aircraft sensor software and the architecture of the F-35 main systems. The "suffocation" effect requires a software restart. The stability and functionality problems of the 3F however are evident because they are inherited from the previous software.
It should be remembered that the Block 3F, according to the director of theOperational Test and Evaluation, Michael Gilmore, even with significant improvements in stability, will not be ready before the end of the 2018. The Block 3F software should confer the 100 per cent of the warfighting capabilities of the tactical fighter, with total integration of all external systems. Also in the 3F, there are also codes to enable the cannon and a series of ammunition including AIM-9X, AMRAAM, GBU-12, GBU-31 and the SDB-II (Small Diameter Bomb II). Without the final 3F software, the F-35 will not be able to enter large-scale production.
The GAO estimates the beginning of the final test phase at the 2022. The first squadron will initially perform three mission profiles: close air support, interdiction, suppression and destruction of enemy air defenses. With the 3i, the F-35A can use JDAM, GBU-12 and AMRAAM. The Air Force features 74 F-35A and more than 2.000 trained technicians.
And ALIS? The most reliable version, namely the 2.0.2, will not be released before next autumn. The Air Combat Command states that, in any case, ALIS will not invalidate the IOC and that the current version, interfaced with the 3ib6.21 software, has not encountered any particular problems.
ALIS or Autonomic Logistics Information System is the nerve center of the F-35 system. Summing up to the max, ALIS allows pilots as well as ground supportive strength to take proactive actions to ensure the efficiency of the fighter in any operational theater. ALIS is also called the backbone of the F-35 fleet. It is basically a hub used to plan missions, keep track of aircraft status, order spare parts. Unlike all the other aircraft, ALIS manages these operations daily, in a single hub in the world. All ALIS servers connect via land-based or satellite military networks. Obviously it does not use the internet. There is only one global server called Autonomic Logistics Operating Unit (ALOU). Each nation will have its own server, called Central Point of Entry (CPE). In turn, squadrons use a called server locally Standard Operating Unit (SOU).
ALIS works this way: the F-35 of a country X connects to the SOU that interfaces with the CPE. The latter stores the data and transmits the information to the Autonomic Logistics Operating Unit. Therefore, an optimal connection is essential. Each aircraft can "lose" the connection to its national server for up to 30 days. After this time, the fighter must be grounded. Once the connection is established, the SOU loads the data into the CPE. So there will be as many servers as there will be countries that will buy the F-35, but only one main hub in the world.
ALIS has never been designed with a back-up system. Fears therefore arise (in addition to the current instability of the system) for particular contexts in which energy losses could occur. This could limit fleet operations to 30 days from the last connection. Although designed exclusively in primary form, ALIS should guarantee greater redundancy to the infrastructure (in a few years). However, in the event that ALIS should be offline, F-35 will be able to fly for no more than 30 days.
ALIS does not restrict flight operations, but makes ground crews blind to the actual state of the aircraft. Self offline, ground crews should do nothing but physically proceed, managing the entire supply chain of the fighter, as well as configuration, error diagnostics, mission planning and debriefing.
(photo: Lockheed Martin / USMC)
