[Lightning]

Nesse ritmo o F-35 erá custar quase o mesmo que um F-22, porém muito menos eficiente que o segundo.

Mas o preço do F-22 é irrelevante, a não ser para ser usado como referência, é que o F-22 até podia custar "meia duzia de tostões" mas não está à venda e nem sei se  ainda se constroi.

[canardS]

No me creo nada lo de los precios, y esto va dirigido a mi compatriota Old.
Si el programa por 87  aviones , nos cuesta 13.200 millones de euros, incluidos 20 años de mantenimiento y retrofits, nos sale el EF-2000 a151 millones de euros, en Dolares, 206. Dicen los enteraos que el 30% 206-30%, son  144 millones revierte al Estado como impuestos. Estamos hablanco de 135 millones de dólares por un avion furtivo, supersónico y de despegue vertical.

[P44]

preparem-se que qq dia a Roménia tb tem F-35!!!!!

Press Release
   
   
(Source: Romanian Ministry of Defence; issued March 24, 2010)
 
   
   (Issued in Romanian only; unofficial translation by defense-aerospace.com)

National Defense Minister Gabriel Oprea presented, during the meeting of the Supreme Council of National Defense (CSAT) held on March 23, 2010, a statement on the Multirole Aircraft Program of the Romanian Air Force.

Given that Romania does not have the financial resources necessary for the acquisition of new multirole aircraft, CSAT has approved the Defence Ministry’s proposal to acquire 24 used F-16 aircraft. The proposal will be submitted for discussion and approval by the Romanian Parliament. The proposal to purchase F-16 aircraft was made by the Romanian Air Force’s General Staff, and is based on an in-depth analysis of the missions which the aircraft is required to carry out, and on the long-term strategy to integrate the fighter aircraft into this category of forces.

Minister Gabriel Oprea also presented CSAT members with information regarding the implications of the retirement, in coming years, of the MiG-21 LanceR fighter aircraft which currently equip the Romanian Air Force.

The implementation of the Multirole Aircraft Program is part of the strategic partnership between Romania and the United States of America, and the option to purchase F-16 aircraft is part of the Air Force Staff’s strategy of gradually developing operational capabilities, with the ultimate goal of acquiring the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

In this respect, the strategy set out the following steps:
- An initial stage involving the acquisition of 24 used F-16 Block 25 aircraft;
- An intermediate stage involving the acquisition of an additional 24, new-build F-16 aircraft of the Block 50-52 version;
--A final phase involving the service introduction of 24 F-35 JSF aircraft, which will replace the first batch of F-16 aircraft originally purchased.

The F-16 is a multirole aircraft capable of performing missions for the defense of airspace, strike missions against land and sea targets in all weather conditions, by day and night, and reconnaissance missions.

Its equipment configuration meets Romania's defense needs and allows the commitments undertaken within NATO. The F-16 is a tactical aircraft whose performance has been tested in combat, and has successfully carried out missions during operations in Iraq, the Western Balkans and Afghanistan. All these technical features and performance at the highest level meet the initial operational requirements of the Romanian Air Force.

The purchase of used F-16 aircraft will be subject to an agreement between the governments of Romania and the United States. Project value is approximately US $ 1.3 billion, broken down as follows: 24 refurbished, updated and fully equipped aircraft; technical assistance for a period of 3-5 years; and a logistic support package including flight simulators, training, transport, adaptation of ground infrastructure, ammunition, weapons and administrative costs.

Personnel training will be carried out in the United States to U.S. Air Force standards, to achieve the required operational level and the full implementation of this system’s capabilities.

The aircraft to be purchased by Romania are in service with the US Air Force, and have a remaining lifetime estimated at 10 to 15 years since (2500 to 3500 flight hours per aircraft.)

The first aircraft will arrive in Romania in 2013.

-ends-

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articl ... r-jsf.html

[nelson38899]

http://gizmodo.com/5541045/two-f+35s-th ... first-time

[Smoke Trails]

Boa Tarde,

Do site airliners.net:

Holland is seriously starting to get some cold feet from this project and are seriously indicating that this JSF saga might be something not for them.
With Jack de Vries having to resign his post a couple of weeks ago (the big dutch pusher for the JSF), an ever increasing price tag not helped by the current EURO value troubles , the general state of government finances and last but not least a shrinking production volume in sight, it could very well mean for the end of the Dutch JSF, at least as an important development+risk taking partner and probably also as a big client from the getgo.

After june 6th , when the elections have run their course , it is very unlikely that there still would the necessary majority in parliament to order the JSF as the next front line fighter.
http://www.defense-aerospace.com/art... ... phase.html

Quoting the link:
THE HAGUE, Netherlands --- The Dutch Parliament’s Lower House voted yesterday to cancel the order for the first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, and to stop Dutch participation in the program’s Initial Operational Test and Evaluation phase.

It also voted to direct the defense ministry to begin anew the Request for Proposal and the complete evaluation of the F-16 replacement program, for which a final decision is due in 2012.

The basis for yesterday’s vote is that the price estimates provided by Lockheed Martin in response to the original Request for Information of 2002, and the Supplemental Request for Information of 2008, are unreliable, as confirmed by the late 2009 reports of the US Joint Estimate Team and US Government Accountability Office.
.........

Quoting KiwiRob (Reply 95):
I hope that the Dutch do bail out, it might make the Norwegian govt see sense and do likewise, it just appears to be an ever larger waste of money for something with abilities that aren't really needed, will never be used and you can get something else which will do just about everything the F35 can do from your largest and most important trading partner for significantly less.

It's clear the Dutch airforce wants the F35 and nothing but the F35. However politically it's all but clear if there is a majority for it in parliament. This will depend largely on the outcome of the upcoming elections in June. Not sure where I stand on this. We clearly still need a manned fighter to replace the ageing F16 and traditionally The Netherlands has always gone for a US solution so in that sense the JSF sounds like a logical choice. I guess the main issue I have is that at the moment there is simply too much uncertainty about the capabilities and cost of the plane to justify a purchase decision. In my view it would be sensible for our country to put more consideration into purchasing a European fighter (Typhoon, Gripen NG) provided it meets our operational and financial requirements.

Is there a reliable overview somewhere of the fly-away-cost (or at least estimated cost) of modern fighters (4.5G and 5G)?

Excerpt from an interview with Gen Norton Schwartz:

Q. On F-35, do you have backup plans?

A. We're committed to the F-35 because we believe that a generation-five fighter is the thing we should hang our hat on for the next 30 years. Now, I can't speak for Gary Roughead, but my sense is he understands their need for a generation-five capability - or a mix of carrier aviation capability. And certainly [Marine Corps Commandant] Gen. Jim Conway is committed to his short-takeoff and vertical-landing [STOVL] version of the F-35.

For us, as we see the threats evolving, I cannot bring myself to a point where, in a situation with limited resources, I am going to dissipate that pool of resources by buying airplanes that will last as long - 25 or 30 years - and be less capable than we have to be to deter a fight and win. I think that's not a good solution.

F-35, obviously, we just had a Nunn-McCurdy breach, but I think it is interesting that Jim Conway's airplane just had its first full hover of the STOVL version without a single mishap. If you go back to the early days of the Harrier, it took them six airplanes to get to that point.

All I'm suggesting is that we've had program management issues, we've had cost-control issues, we've had some manufacturing issues, but what I'm seeing is, at the technical level, pretty promising. So if we can bend the cost curve and exert the kind of program management focus that [Pentagon acquisition chief] Ash Carter has undertaken, I'm nowhere near to thinking of abandoning this effort.

Source: http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i= ... =FEA&s=INT

And a bit farther down this shocking item (regarding new programs): "...It may be that, to some degree, we will have to design to cost. "

Cumprimentos

[Smoke Trails]

Boa Tarde,

F-35s AF-01 e AF-02 em voo e, a reabastecer: http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/f35inflightdp_2.htm

Cumprimentos

[P44]

Lockheed F-35 Cost Now Projected at $382 Billion (excerpt)
   
   
(Source: Reuters; issued June 1, 2010)
 
 
   
   WASHINGTON --- Lockheed Martin Corp. said a fourth batch of F-35 fighter planes will beat Pentagon cost estimates by more than 20 percent, even as new U.S. data pegged the overall program tab at $382 billion.

The U.S. Defense Department on Tuesday told Congress that the multinational fighter was vital to national security and it should not be terminated despite the sharp cost increases.

Senior officials at the Pentagon and at Lockheed acknowledged the new cost target was 65 percent higher than the $232 billion initially set for the program, but said they were working hard to drive down costs.

"I hope that the taxpayer never has to pay this bill. It should come down," one senior defense official told reporters at the Pentagon.

The official declined to give specific targets for how much lower the cost could wind up being, but said "every column of cost in this program" was being scrubbed for possible savings.

Lockheed and eight overseas countries are developing the F-35 fighter in three variants as an affordable replacement for current F-16, Harrier and A-10 warplanes flown by the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marines, and many foreign countries. (end of excerpt)


Click here for the full article, on the Reuters website.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idCNN011 ... 602?rpc=44


(EDITOR’S NOTE: In March, the Pentagon had already conceded that the total cost of the JSF program had risen to $323 billion. This latest estimate shows that total JSF costs have increased by $59 billion over the past six months alone.)

(ends)

[pchunter]

$323 billion!!!!!!!! Viva o Gripen.

[Cabeça de Martelo]

http://www.gizmodo.com.br/conteudo/e-as ... com-lasers

[Cabeça de Martelo]

Inside the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10648250

[pchunter]

Mais um tiro no pé.

Lockheed diz que várias peças do F-35 estão falhando


A Lockheed Martin disse na terça-feira que várias peças da mais completa versão do caça F-35 Joint Strike Fighter,  estavam falhando mais do que o esperado, um problema que está diminuindo o ritmo dos testes de voo do modelo feito para os Marines.
O chefe executivo da empresa, Robert J. Stevens, disse para analistas que os problemas tem ocorrido na versão (F-35B), de decolagem curta e pouso vertical (STOVL).
Stevens disse que os defeitos reduziram os testes de voo no modelo para 74 neste ano, 21 a menos que o planejado. Ele disse que a companhia estava trabalhando com os fornecedores para consertar os problemas para conseguir alguns voos extras.
O Secretário da Defesa Robert M. Gates recentemente reestruturou o programa F-35 e removeu o general encarregado, depois que os atrasos fizeram os custos subirem para US$ 382 bilhões para 2.457 aeronaves.
Stevens disse que o desempenho global da empresa melhorou e que os voos com as outras duas versões do avião estão à frente do plano previsto.

http://www.aereo.jor.br/2010/07/30/lockheed-diz-que-varias-pecas-do-f-35-estao-falhando/

[P44]

Lockheed F-35's Parts to Get More Scrutiny Amid Test Delays, Pentagon Says (excerpt)
   
   
(Source: Bloomberg; issued Aug. 2, 2010)
 
 
   
   The U.S. Defense Department may require more rigorous inspection of parts for the F-35 fighter jet, its most expensive weapons program, add maintenance staff and buy more replacement components as the agency works to prevent major flight delays because of failing parts.

Other responses to a “higher than expected” failure rate on some components for the Marine Corps and Air Force versions of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s $382.4 billion fighter-jet program include revised flight days and parts redesigns, if necessary, Pentagon spokeswoman Cheryl Irwin said in an e-mailed statement prepared by the program manager.

Development and combat testing of the Joint Strike Fighter, also intended for use by the Navy, is behind schedule, prompting the U.S. government to warn that it may withhold millions of dollars in fees. Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed has encountered equipment shortages and late deliveries from some of its more than 3,000 suppliers during the past several years, the Defense Contract Management Agency has said.

The failures of parts from valves to batteries and electrical switches are “part of the normal course of development testing,” Irwin said. Lockheed Chief Executive Officer Robert Stevens said on a July 27 conference call with analysts that the malfunctions involve smaller components. (end of excerpt)


Click here for the complete article, on the Bloomberg website.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-0 ... -says.html

[paraquedista]

http://www.aircraftowner.com/videos/vie ... _1126.html

[AtInf]

Actividades de 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg-EPRwCcCs&feature=player_embedded#!

[Cabeça de Martelo]