[Lusitano89]

[Luso]

[Lusitano89]

[Cabeça de Martelo]

Early F-35As May Get Axed Even Though Overall Readiness Has Improved Significantly
The Joint Strike Fighter topped the list for readiness rates last year but concerns about sustainment costs show no sign of going away.
BY THOMAS NEWDICK MAY 25, 2021

Figures recently released by the U.S. Air Force show that the readiness rate for the F-35A stealth fighter has made a major improvement in the last 12 months, while the stats for other fighter types within the service have remained essentially the same year over year. The development is good news for the Joint Strike Fighter program, which has rarely been far from controversy, but it could also provide ammunition for those arguing in favor of retiring the earliest least-capable F-35As, which are used mainly for training.

Overall, during 2020, and despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, mission capable rates (MCR) for the Air Force’s fighters improved but the F-35A led the way. MCR is the percentage used to determine how many aircraft are ready for one or more of their assigned tasks at any given time and it serves as a valuable metric to assess maintenance efficiency as well as overall preparedness of the force at large.

For the Air Force’s conventional takeoff and landing Joint Strike Fighter variant, the F-35A, the MCR increased from 61.6 percent in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 to 76.07 percent in FY20, according to figures obtained from the service by Air Force Magazine. While the corresponding figures for the F-15D and F-15E saw slight reductions in MCR, the readiness for the other fighter types in the force improved, albeit not by more than two percent in any instance.

ome of the main reasons for the F-35A’s readiness leap were outlined by Lieutenant General Eric Fick, director of the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO), to the House Armed Service Committee last month. These include a major increase in budget to buy more spare parts and the induction of additional depots to keep the jets in working order. Perhaps most important, however, is the fact that, as production continues to ramp up, the Air Force is receiving more capable F-35As with more of the type’s teething troubles ironed out.

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https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/40783/early-f-35as-may-get-axed-even-though-overall-readiness-has-improved-significantly

[Red Baron]

Fácil

[goldfinger]

[Lusitano89]

[P44]

Smith slams F-35 lifecycle costs: ‘We can do a hell of a lot better’

WASHINGTON ― House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith on Tuesday criticized Lockheed Martin and other contractors over the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and its exorbitant lifecycle costs.

“There’s no question that everyone involved ― certainly Lockheed Martin ― could be doing a better job on getting sustainment costs down,” Smith, D-Wash., told the Defense Writer’s Group. “The sustainment costs ― and it varies, I understand they’re as high as $38,000 an hour, and that is incredibly expensive ― it’ll make the plane so that you don’t really want to operate it any more than you absolutely have to.”

The comments are the latest volley at the F-35 program from Smith, who called the fighter a “rathole” in March. He has been pointing to the F-35′s costs and performance problems as a symbol of the Pentagon acquisition system’s shortcomings.

Air Force officials plan to complete a business-case analysis this summer to attack escalating sustainment costs, the service’s top uniformed acquisition official, Lt. Gen. Duke Richardson, said at a Senate hearing last week. In addition, the Air Force is negotiating a three-year sustainment contract with performance incentives, instead of the standard annual contract.

https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2021/06/29/smith-slams-f-35-lifecycle-costs-in-latest-salvo/

[MATRA]

Esta frase resume bem toda a saga do F35, o potencial é inegável, mas...

it’ll make the plane so that you don’t really want to operate it any more than you absolutely have to.”

[nelson38899]

Na Suíça o F35 foi considerado mais barato que o rafale, e foi o vencedor.

[MATRA]

E o patinho feio limpou mais um concurso. Vamos ver a Finlândia e Canadá como vai ser.

A LM parece confiante:

Lauderdale (LM) pointed to ongoing fighter competitions in Canada, Switzerland and Finland. Each is expected to either choose a victor or further narrow the pool of competitors in 2021. Lockheed is confident the F-35 will be “very hard to beat,” she said.

Mas quem abre os cordões à bolsa no congresso continua com dúvidas:

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Smith,
“Some argue that people like me, who are willing to criticize the F-35, are simply ignorant about the classified capabilities of the program,” Smith, a Washington Democrat, wrote in a May op-ed for Defense News. “It’s a clever argument. How can it be refuted publicly? We can’t talk about these details because they’re classified.”

“[But] I know the capabilities being referenced; I have received the classified briefing on many occasions,” he said. “The F-35 has yet to actually deliver many promised capabilities.”

Uma novela mexicana de avião.

[dc]

De qualquer das formas, a escolha do F-35 é a que tem mais lógica para estes países, e quando o custo unitário não foge muito do de um caça de geração 4.5, sendo inclusive mais barato que alguns deles, é difícil contrariar a tendência.

[Daniel]

Bundesrat beschliesst Beschaffung von 36 US-Kampfjets des Typs F-35
https://www.msn.com/de-ch/nachrichten/schweiz/bundesrat-beschliesst-beschaffung-von-36-us-kampfjets-des-typs-f-35/ar-AALCz12?ocid=msedgntp


O Conselho Federal Suiço decidiu adquirir 36 caças F-35 aos EUA, ainda segundo o jornal, na avaliação, o F-35 deixou de longe a melhor impressão geral e, em termos de custos totais, é 2 bilhões de francos mais barato que o resto.
A Suiça vai pagar pelos 36 F-35, 15,5 bilhões de francos em trinta anos.

[mayo]

[mafets]

Lembram-se da escolha do Gripen Ng? Lembram-se do relatório que saiu cá para fora uns anos depois? 

https://www.terra.com.br/noticias/mundo/europa/suica-adia-por-dois-anos-compra-de-cacas-suecos-gripen,7e5cff0dfbada310VgnCLD200000bbcceb0aRCRD.html

Em fevereiro, a imprensa divulgou um relatório confidencial fechado em 2009 indicando que o Gripen havia fracassado nos testes realizados pela Força Aérea suíça.

Segundo o relatório, "a eficácia global do Gripen MS21 é insuficiente para obter a superioridade aérea ante futuras ameaças".

O avião "é incapaz de alcançar as mínimas capacidades em todos os tipos de missões examinadas", conclui o documento.

Saudações 

P.S.  https://switzerland.in-24.com/News/24710.html

Under fire. Shots come from everywhere, from the sky and the ground, from the parlement to quidam. Missiles or cannons, especially in French-speaking Switzerland, have been pursuing the F-35 since the announcement of the Federal Council’s choice last Wednesday. Switzerland, announced Viola Amherd, would like to shop for 36 of these American stealth hunters crammed with screens and technology. It’s the best and cheapest, she explained, with pretty much everything else being classified.–defense. Since then, political, ideological, European, transatlantic, national or cantonal considerations have exploded. (read below). The fighter plane, before flying in a squadron in the Swiss sky, will therefore have to start by demonstrating its ability to resist these turbulences.–the. But what do we know about the F-35?