F-35 Purchase

[Moonbox]

Try and follow the thread and pick things up in context. waldo was referring to Northrop potentially offering updated Global Hawks to patrol the Canadian north. Are they not drones?

[cybercoma]

I don't know why I continue to click on this thread, as I just scroll past everything that's posted anyway. The waldo/Derek L show just looks like white noise now.

[punked]

I seriously come into the thread and only click the links I read nothing. I want to know what is going on and be informed as much as I can but no one in this thread is presenting a good argument outside of the links.

[Moonbox]

There's a lot of trolling in this thread. It should die.

[cybercoma]

I have the forum set to as many posts per page as possible (I think 40 or 50) and this is the 83rd page. There can't possibly be any new or interesting arguments forwarded at this point and even if there are, they're lost.

[Guest Derek L]

the official vote count is in: a majority of Dutch parliamentarians voted to halt the purchase of the JSFail F-35... assessments are now being done to determine cost impacts of formal withdrawal from the program. Tick tock, tick tock.

You are kinda forgetting that whole election thingy, that takes place after the Dutch have received their first F-35.......A Dutch withdrawal will be the end of the Fokker sister companies that have secured the sole contract, as a tier 2 partner, to complete all the wiring, in-flight doors/hatches and flaperons of all variants, of the F-35.………That would devastate the Dutch aerospace industry………As I said, it won’t happen.

[waldo]

the official vote count is in: a majority of Dutch parliamentarians voted to halt the purchase of the JSFail F-35... assessments are now being done to determine cost impacts of formal withdrawal from the program. Tick tock, tick tock.

You are kinda forgetting that whole election thingy, that takes place after the Dutch have received their first F-35.......A Dutch withdrawal will be the end of the Fokker sister companies that have secured the sole contract, as a tier 2 partner, to complete all the wiring, in-flight doors/hatches and flaperons of all variants, of the F-35.………That would devastate the Dutch aerospace industry………As I said, it won’t happen.

the election 'thingy'? You mean the 'thingy' I directly spoke to in the same post you're now replying to, but failed to quote me on... that 'thingy'? As I said, everything points to the current Dutch government being tossed - the current government that signed up for JSFail. In any case, again, a majority of Dutch parliamentarians have now officially voted to halt the purchase of the F-35. Even as it stands, the current government paired the procurement numbers in half - from ~85 to ~40... and on top of that, the Dutch Defense Minister, reeling under intense opposition parties pressure, stated that number would even lower if they retained government. Tick tock, tick tock...

[Guest Derek L]

further to the U.S. Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Jonathan Greenert, highlighting the limitations of stealth balanced against an alternate strategic need to pursue long-range weaponry and/or electronic-warfare attack.

U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Ready To Cut Back On F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

Again, nowhere in the CNO's piece does he mention curtailing F-35C orders.........

Meanwhile, from the Farnborough airshow:

Lockheed's F-35 fighter attracts foreign interest

More than 25 countries have expressed interest in Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, including Singapore, which is still evaluating its options, and South Korea, which is due to pick a winner in its fighter competition by year's end, top Lockheed officials said on Wednesday.

South Korean officials are due to visit Lockheed's Fort Worth, Texas, production facility and other sites later this year for weeks of data-gathering, including classified simulator tests, as they weigh the F-35 bid, according to sources familiar with what will be handled as a government-to-government sale.

Lockheed's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is vying with Boeing Co's F-15 fighter and the four-nation European Typhoon for the multibillion-dollar 60-jet South Korean order.

And:

Lockheed officials declined to identify any of the other countries exploring possible F-35 purchases, which are handled on a government-to-government basis, but said they had been engaged in nonstop meetings at the air show.

I’m still predicting Belgium, Taiwan, Finland and Romania, and I’ll add Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar and the outlier as Chile……….

[Guest Derek L]

the election 'thingy'? You mean the 'thingy' I directly spoke to in the same post you're now replying to, but failed to quote me on... that 'thingy'? As I said, everything points to the current Dutch government being tossed - the current government that signed up for JSFail. In any case, again, a majority of Dutch parliamentarians have now officially voted to halt the purchase of the F-35. Even as it stands, the current government paired the procurement numbers in half - from ~85 to ~40... and on top of that, the Dutch Defense Minister, reeling under intense opposition parties pressure, stated that number would even lower if they retained government. Tick tock, tick tock...

Keep me updated

[Guest Derek L]

Unless these F-35s can be equipped to be flown remotely, then I say we don't need them. One goal for the US military over the past 30 years has been to remove the human pilot from the physical craft.

Why do you think the military spends all sorts of money on these drones?

The day's of the human pilot in fighter aircraft are numbered.

Once they figure out how to make a secure and robust enough bandwidth……..

[Guest Derek L]

drone baby, drone!

You do know the USAF just put their latest Global Hawks into storage in favour of keeping the manned U-2.......

[punked]

Once they figure out how to make a secure and robust enough bandwidth……..

What does this statement even mean seriously. Robust bandwidth seriously? I can see the Secure part I guess but Robust?

[waldo]

notWearingAVest

another pilot in recent days... notWearingAVest!

Both pilots were flying without pressurized vests

so... not the vests, hey?

[Guest Derek L]

What does this statement even mean seriously. Robust bandwidth seriously? I can see the Secure part I guess but Robust?

The major hurdle in operating UAVs, since they aren’t really unmanned and more aptly call remote piloted vehicles……….go watch the linked conference a few pages back discussing the limitations on said technology.

[Guest Derek L]

another pilot in recent days... notWearingAVest!

so... not the vests, hey?

You do understand the concept of why fighter pilots wear G-suits right? Assuming as much, if they aren’t wearing them, what could happen to the human body?

[waldo]

You do understand the concept of why fighter pilots wear G-suits right? Assuming as much, if they aren’t wearing them, what could happen to the human body?

you emphatically, repeatedly stated the problem had been identified as, 'a problem with the vests'. Apparently not, hey?

[punked]

I just want to point out the pilots had G-suits on they were not flying naked.

[waldo]

And:

and I’ll add Saudi Arabia

you mean KSA will buy F-35s... on top of the $3 billion they just spent in purchasing 84 F-15s? Really?

[Guest Derek L]

you emphatically, repeatedly stated the problem had been identified as, 'a problem with the vests'. Apparently not, hey?

No, I’m still of the judgement of the problem, as confirmed by the USAF as being the vests………..As you pointed out, in both recent cases, neither pilots were wearing the said vests……….Now the purpose to wearing G-suits is to prevent what condition? I’ll spot you some letters:

Starts with an H and ends with a ypoxia………A condition that occurs when a person has reduced blood flow, hence a decrease of oxygen to the brain…………A problem commonly found in fighter pilots not wearing g-suits, or in the recent cases, g-suits that don’t work.

Savvy?

[Guest Derek L]

I just want to point out the pilots had G-suits on they were not flying naked.

No, as mentioned in the article, they were not wearing the upper portion....aka the vests.

[Guest Derek L]

you mean KSA will buy F-35s... on top of the $3 billion they just spent in purchasing 84 F-15s? Really?

And on top of the fortune they spent on Eurofighter Typhoons.......{see Saudi vs. Iranian mine shaft gap}

to add*

Eagles beget Eagles

Tornados (ADV) beget Typhoons

Tornado (IDS) beget F-35

Edited July 11, 2012 by Derek L

[cybercoma]

What does this statement even mean seriously. Robust bandwidth seriously? I can see the Secure part I guess but Robust?

[punked]

No, as mentioned in the article, they were not wearing the upper portion....aka the vests.

But they were wearing Gsuits.

[Guest Derek L]

Or:

As UAV use grows, bandwidth limits become a concern

French Air Chief: UAVs Taxing Available Satellite Bandwidth

Source of DoD Commercial Bandwidth Funds is Drying Up

But hey, thanks for coming out.

[Guest Derek L]

But they were wearing Gsuits.

They were wearing the pants, not the entire suit that includes the upper vests, as

ordered by the USAF a while back once they identified said problem with suits manufactured post 2003, that not only are to blame with the F-22 problems, but a crash last year of an F-16 and a Super Hornet, in which said aircrew was wearing the same suits.