"But it's such a solid airframe. The capabilities are understated, and I think the capabilities of our competition are hugely overstated."via Reuters...
Boeing is scrambling to drum up additional orders for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the EA-18G Growler electronic attack plane before its production line is slated to end in 2016.Ok.
Ricardo Traven, a former Canadian Air Force pilot who has worked on the Super Hornet program since 1997, said he is convinced that the plane's capabilities will attract additional orders to keep the line running.
"These are the dark days right now," Traven told Reuters in a pre-flight briefing before a 40-minute flight at altitudes of up to 18,000 feet. "But it's such a solid airframe. The capabilities are understated, and I think the capabilities of our competition are hugely overstated."
Traven said Boeing had updated the technology on the F/A-18E/F fighter over the past decade, which meant it was more advanced and even stealthier - or able to evade enemy radar - than critics generally understood.
High above the Dubai Airshow, Traven demonstrated 7G turns - delivering seven times the force of gravity on the pilot and reporter in the backseat - and the jet's ability to continue delivering missiles or bombs even at high angles of attack that he said would stall out the Lockheed Martin Corp F-16 fighter or the Eurofighter Typhoon built by a European consortium.
To demonstrate the capability of even the relatively old radar installed on the jet used for the demonstration, Traven pinged a car on a desert highway and identified the unwitting driver's exact speed - 59 miles per hour.
This helps explain at least part of the Navy solicitation for 36 of these jets.
They're trying to protect the production line from shutdown. It'll happen too. If Lockheed Martin can play the jobs card then so can every other defense manufacturer...including Boeing. Additionally with Lockheed laying off 4000 employees to keep the stock up (not to lower the price of the F-35), I fully expect BAE and others to jump on the jobs bandwagon to get stuck projects moving again. One more Sealy, Texas type situation and the Army will be fighting to get a new vehicle with Congressional support this time.
But back to the F-18.
Are we really going to hand a corporation a monopoly on our defense production?
Its too insane to even consider, but here we are.
Well, the defense companies have to merge to survive in the 1990s.
ReplyDeleteGo blame the idiotic peace dividend for that. Lockheed closed Sealy because there was NO POINT to keep it open. You don't pay workers to sit on their asses for a year or 2 while congress takes it's time to decided whether the JLTV is worth it or not.
that doesn't explain the issue with lockheed martin. they're in the middle of record profits. they're allocating all kinds of work to overseas corporations yet they lay off 4000 american workers and still want the US DOD to fund 90 percent of the F-35. an airplane that is only worthwhile in its B form and in the others is a wasteful extravagance. yeah. lockheed martin should be loved and worshipped.
Delete"the F-35. an airplane that is only worthwhile in its B form"
Delete--pending acceptable test results and modifications.
as a replacement for the Harrier it has value. but not at its current costs. don't doubt that i'm still a budget hawk...especially for the Marines.
DeleteTyphoon appears to be sweeping the Gulf, where the money is. Saudi Arabia is already taking delivery of 72 Typhoons and might order more, while Oman signed up for 12 last December. UK PM Cameron has jetted in to the Dubai airshow to promote a potential UAE Typhoon deal. The JSF is a no-show (of course).
ReplyDeleteBoeing has its Dreamliner -- "Boeing leads Airbus on first day." Lockheed's on borrowed time.
The Navy funded a couple of million dollars worth of F-18 production line improvements a couple weeks ago. Whether it was needed work or a strategic investment, I guess we will find out. Yet, it sure was strange that a pre-solicititation notice was posted, then summarily pulled a couple weeks later after the press noticed it (and LM went ballistic.) Options are nice things to have.
ReplyDeleteShe's a beautiful bird. It will be a sad day :(
ReplyDeleteThe Navy has only $236 million for an unspecified quantity of F/A-18E/F aircraft in the FY2014 procurement budget, which is not yet finalized.
ReplyDeleteCongress has an add in their bill, for advanced procurement to support 22 F/A-18E/Fs for FY15. We'll see if it survives.
DeleteIf things continue like this and the production line of he Super Hornets were closed and they cancel the F-35C they will have to buy Rafales in the future to have something to flight from their carriers.
ReplyDeletethat will never happen. the outcry will be too great, the Pentagon will be crucified and the govt will be toppled before we buy French fighters. what will happen is that a new competition will be launched and LM will start off behind the eight ball even if they produce a magic jet for a dollar. this will stick in the craw of many in the Pentagon for generations. LM is mud and they will probably be done in many sectors that they want to enter in the future.
Deletethe F-35 is toxic and the spill from the program is contaminating everything they do.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXtEmZ3lZvA&feature=youtube_gdata_player
ReplyDeleteThe JSF program has always been designed to produce a fighter monopoly for LockMart in two ways. The first is the concentration of all fighter production in a 'winner take all' approach that was designed to crowd out all other manufacturers. The second is in the USAF's mania for disparaging and eliminating any possible alternatives to the F-35 to protect F-35 procurement. The latter, in particular, is why the USAF can't wait for the F-15 and F-18 lines to be shut down.
ReplyDeleteThe JSF programs mania for eliminating alternatives was also on display in the engine program where, despite the huge evidence of the value of alternative engines for the F-16/F-14, the USAF fought Congress and GE for years to shut down GE's alternative JSF engine program. This of course was rewarded with huge cost over-runs from Pratt and Whitney.
I believe what we're seeing now with both the F-18 and the UCAS program is Pentagon in-fighting between a Navy trying to hedge its bets and the USAF, hell bent on destroying all possible procurement alternatives.
Also, as Solomon has pointed out, in making it joint, so that it's above every service chief's paygrade.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls9OFqGDT1E&feature=youtube_gdata_player
ReplyDeleteI am sure LMT will really work super hard to make sure F35 prices will keep going down even after F15/F18/F16 line are shut down and there is no more likely source for jet fighters to come from because that's always what private corporations do when they have a monopoly.....Righhhththtt!!!!!! If you believe that, I have some prime beach front property to sell you here in Arizona.....
ReplyDeleteStealth and Fifth Generation cultists control the minds of thousands asking for billions to finish their glass cathedral and declaring an extraordinary and already super capable machines like the Super Hornet and Growlers not pure (Stealth) enough, and mass believes that.
ReplyDeleteericpalmer.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/supermulti.gif
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