The usual suspects...

I'd be shocked but I could see this coming from a mile away.  Usually the fanboys aren't this obvious but this is just plain dastardly.

Exhibit number one...This post by Sweetman...

The Netherlands has decided to delay and stretch out its acquisition of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. In a July 1 letter to parliament, defense minister Hans Hillen says that a revised plan, reflecting the most recent schedule changes "starts the flow of production aircraft in 2019, and lasts until 2027".

To be honest, if he had simply left it at that then it wouldn't be worthy of comment, but as usual Sweetman continues to make statements that are questionable at best.  I won't even get into the comments section where the merry band from 'down under' get swept away in the joy of an apparent anti F-35 victory.  Pathetic.

Exhibit number two...Bob Cox weighs in.... 
Its really not even worth the time to read.  The guy obviously has an massive hard on for the guys at Lockheed Martin (as does Sweetman) so my best advice to them is to always use soap on a rope when Cox comes around (pun intended).

Exhibit number three...some dude named Colin Horgan...
He's a new player (at least I never heard of him) but what makes his post noteworthy is the fact that it almost mirrors Cox's exactly.

I'm not saying that there is collusion here but my goodness it sure looks like.

The question now becomes...what should Lockheed Martin do? 


There is a group of reporters that are obviously talking...obviously comparing notes...obviously working overtime to kill a program that your company is working hard to get into the hands of US and allied War Fighters.  


What should you do?  Check out the vid below.  



Oh and LM...love ya'll but how can you put advertising right next to stories that are blasting your products? On two of the three articles I cited above, there was actually advertising for the F-35 running!  Come on guys this is 2011!  How about being smarter with your advertising budget!

100 Flights For F-35C

The F-35C fleet reached 100 total flights when F-35C CF-2 flew back to NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, after completing jet blast deflector training at the Naval Air Engineering Center at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey.

F-35 Jet Blast Deflector Testing Underway at Lakehurst

And the F-35 critics are coming out of the woodwork.

Out of the woodwork I tell ya!

DoDBuzz came up with this post and the first thing I asked myself was who the hell are these guys! Well this is what Wikipedia has on them...

The Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) is a Washington, D.C.-based non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in 1975. In its own words, it was established to "promote the common interests of the [Western] hemisphere, raise the visibility of regional affairs and increase the importance of the inter-American relationship, as well as encourage the formulation of rational and constructive U.S. policies towards Latin America." ^[1]COHA is dedicated to monitoring Latin American affairs, especially within the context of United States and Canadian foreign policy and its effect on the region. Working with a large number of unpaid research associates (undergraduate and graduate interns) and a small core of professional research fellows to improve hemispheric relations and advance the public good. Cohistas, as COHA staff is sometimes known, constantly analyze a number of ongoing themes including social justice, equal rights, anti-corruption measures, and the enhancement of democratic rights.

How these bubba's wound up talking about the F-35 is beyond me...read the whole thing but here's a tidbit that raised the hair on the back of my neck...

 Although the F-35 is a remarkable aircraft, it is unsuitable for the Canadian military. According to Steven Staples from the Rideau Institute, the current CF-18 fulfills two important roles of the Canadian Forces: surveillance and control of the Arctic, along with expeditionary operations including “air-to-air combat, precision guided munitions/bomb delivery, and close air support of the ground.”[xviii] The traditional Cold War concept of Arctic sovereignty applies to defending Canadian airspace against Russian bombers. Yet, supporters of the F-35 still maintain that this threat is real and that Canada needs the F-35 to protect Canadian and American airspace. Defense Minister Peter MacKay highlighted the Russian threat in 2010, when he praised two CF-18s for intercepting the two Russian TU-95 long range bombers on the edge of Canadian air space. However, critics like defense and foreign affairs analyst Eric Margolis, said that this incident was routine and that “it’s nothing to get excited about, [because] there’s much less to this than meets the eye.”[xix] In addition, Staples points out that if Russia were to go to war with the United States, “air defense would be irrelevant in any case, since the primary delivery vehicle would be intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.”[xx] 

The Russians and Chinese are forming "Arctic Troop" formations (The USMC should be first on this in the US military...we already have extensive training in Mountain Warfare, the next step should be to either copy the Brits and have Mountain Leaders/Arctic Warfare Specialist assigned to every Battalion or to have a SPMAGTF formed and positioned in Alaska.  Either way we'd be in the race for the poles...and this should be a Marine Corps mission!) and the Canadians are using there Rangers to have a permanent force in the area.  To say that sovereignty patrols are unnecessary is to ignore the obvious.


This is a left leaning group and this is a red herring.  This debate in Canada is over.  I smell a rat.  An Australian based Think Tank rat.  

Pre-emptive F-35 news blast.

Consider this a preemptive strike against the F-35 critics that will be howling about this on Tuesday.  via NWFDailyNews.com.

Although they did not meet their expected June delivery date, Eglin Air Force Base’s first two F-35 Joint Strike Fighters have completed their test flights and are in their final review to be accepted by the Department of Defense.
Representatives from Lockheed Martin, the main contractor building the fifth-generation fighter jet, said last month that the first F-35s were expected to arrive in June. Although Lockheed officials cannot provide a firm date, they now say the AF-8 and AF-9 — Eglin’s first two Joint Strike Fighters — will “arrive shortly.”
“What we’re finding is it’s taking a little bit longer and I’m not going down that path again and putting a month on it,” said Mike Rein, a spokesman for Lockheed Martin. “I will tell you very shortly in the scope of a 10-year program, we will be sending both AF-8 and AF-9 out to Eglin.”

Read it all but bet money that the usual suspects will be talking about missed delivery dates etc.  All I ask is that either Lockheed Martin or the USAF come out with an explanation of why this is 'taking longer than expected'...are we talking about the monster called bureaucracy creeping into the mix or is it an issue with the airplane.

Either way, you've been warned.  Expect an Alpha Strike from several blogs that you probably read all covering this subject.

1,000th F-35 Flight.

Lt. Col. Leonard Kearl was at the controls for the 1,000th F-35 flight on 20 June 2011. The 1.8-hour flight, completed in F-35A AF-6, originated from Edwards AFB, California.

Wow.

Do I hear cries of agony from certain parts of Australia? 

Is a certain "Think Tank" (Air Power Australia) rethinking its positions???

Doubtful, but they should.

F-35B undergoes NERF testing.

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. -- F-35B test aircraft BF-4 rests the evening of June 21 after a day of testing at the Naval Electromagnetic Radiation Facility. BF-4 is undergoing testing which simulates the shipboard electromagnetic environment to identify any potential issues prior to at sea testing this fall on USS Wasp (LHD 1). The F-35B is the short take-off, vertical landing variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter for the U.S. Marine Corps and international partners and is undergoing test and evaluation at NAS Patuxent River prior to delivery to the fleet.

Turkey to place initial F-35 order.

Great find Phil!  Thanks buddy.

via Hurriyetdailynews.com

Turkey plans to buy the U.S.-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Lightning II, a stealth multirole fighter jet, to meet most future needs for its Air Force’s next-generation fighter planes. It has voiced willingness to buy around 100 F-35s over the next 15 years, but as the program’s limited production stage begins, it so far has not formally committed to the program. To do so, it needs to submit a purchase order for a first batch of six aircraft before the end of the year.“We will have talks [with the Americans] in the months ahead in an effort to resolve some matters. If we manage to reach an agreement, we expect to order the first six aircraft this year,” Murad Bayar, chief of the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, or SSM, the government’s defense procurement agency, recently told the Hürriyet Daily News. “We expect to reach a deal.”

Read the whole thing but for critics of the F-35, the hits just keep coming.

Amy Butler (Wonder Woman) body slams over at ARES...

Oh this is getting good!

Amy (aka Wonder Woman) just stuck a fork in the conversation this morning.  Just to remind everyone, Sweetman posted this comment to her latest post...

Nothing confirms that the program is going tickety-boo like the second big management shake-up in seven months, bringing in a new deputy with no ties to Aeronautics, Fort Worth, Navair or USAF.

Hmm.  Rather bitchy on his part but still tame in my world.

Wonder Woman wasn't having it though and she laid the verbal smack down to Sweetman with this comment!

Clearly LM has chosen its leaders for this phase of JSF -- and potentially for the future of the company. Not sure it is the job of a journalist to spin this ...
One interesting point is to bring in some talent outside Aero may just be what was needed. Keep the sector bathwater drinking low may have been a goal. At any rate, in the past year or so, Dan Crowley is out, Lawson is in and the deputies have shifted. Burbage is still the anchor for the international program. Last year, the criticism was there was no leadership change at LM after Heinz was dismissed -- now the criticism is that there is a leadership change. Seems the spin is fickle at times. Either way -- this blog is intended to simply document the change.

Like I said, this is getting good. 

Amy verbally grabbed him by the throat, picked him up off the ground, told him to shut the fuck up and then body slammed him.

Awesome! 

Don't get up Bill.  Stay down!

More on the F-35C's carrier suitability testing.

Consider this a preemptive strike on the F-35C carrier suitability critics.

I think Sferrin states it best....

"With the F-14 there were two JBD issues:

1. Size. The JBD is much larger due to the launch position of the 14. The smaller JBD's didn't catch the full jet blast. The JBD for the 14 was wider and taller.

2. Heat. The JBD's designed for the F-14 had a greater water flow to them (1000 gpm versus 750) and, had their own dedicated firepump to provide that water rather than just using normal firemain. The retirement of the 14 solved this problem even though the modified JBD's remain in service on ships so fitted.

This was before they got the F110s.


For the F-35:

"One shipalt still in development concerns Flight Deck Jet Blast Deflectors (JBD). The Navy expects aircraft carrier JBDs will require some level of modification to accommodate F-35C heat plume concentration on the JBD. The Navy is currently collecting data from F-35 test aircraft to characterize the heat plume and signature of the JSF F-135 engine. The concentration of F-35C jet exhaust heat and plume differs from that of an FA-18E/F in physical location on the JBD, effects more JBD area, and may have a higher total integrated heat load. The goal of current analysis is to define the heat transfer to the Flight Deck and JBD components, determine the JBD system response, and develop a solution to mitigate the heat imparted by F-35C while retaining compatibility with the FA-18E/F. The solution must also ensure the mission of the JBD to protect the Flight Deck environment. These modifications will be incorporated aboard NIMITZ-class aircraft carriers during previously-scheduled availabilities. Modifications to CVN 78 will be accomplished during construction where possible, after finalization of a JBD system solution.
Several preliminary tests measuring the heat plume characteristics have been completed, funded by the F-35 Joint Program Office. Most recently, an angle plate test was conducted and the test results are being analyzed. Upon completion of this analysis, an F-35C will conduct high-power engine tests against a modified land-based CVN JBD. The cost and schedule to modify the test JBD will be dependent on the results of the ongoing analyses."

Long story short.

The testing is designed to find out issues, concerns and solutions to any problems when deploying a NEW airplane aboard a carrier deck.

I will not be surprised or discouraged if modifications and tweaks are needed to get the plane aboard ship (heck NAVAIR is even planning for it as we speak).

I will NOT be surprised when critics come out of the wood work to trumpet any findings as the end of the world.

Haters hate. 

Its all par for the course.

Aviation Week tries to play nice. Amy (Wonder Woman) saves the day...again!

I once asked on the boards over at Aviation Week's blog Ares...how come you guys never report the good news on the F-35 program?

I was told (and I'm paraphrasing here) that we don't report the routine...only the important.

Well looks like the 'editorial' stance has changed.  Wonder Woman (also known as Amy Butler) has two stories out on it today...

Check the stories out here and here.

This is tooo sweet.  I would love to be a fly on the wall for those meetings!  Lockheed Martin still should MAN UP AND CANCEL THEIR ADVERTISING....Ares declared war.  Ares drew first blood.  Time for Lockheed Martin to strike back!


UPDATE.


Sweetman's not happy.  This is a comment that he left on Wonder Woman's story about staff changes..

Nothing confirms that the program is going tickety-boo like the second big management shake-up in seven months, bringing in a new deputy with no ties to Aeronautics, Fort Worth, Navair or USAF.

Oh and if you're like me and have no idea what "tickety-boo" means then have no fear.  The definition is here...

Told ya he wasn't happy! 

F-35C starts carrier suitability testing

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. -- Flown by test pilot Lt. Cmdr. Eric "Magic" Buus, F-35C test aircraft CF-2 lands at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey June 25. CF-2 and the F-35 integrated test team from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. are at the NAVAIR facility in Lakehurst for the first jet blast deflector (JBD) testing, in preparation for carrier shipboard testing in 2013. The team is at the JBD test facility to evaluate deck heating, JBD panel cooling, and vibro-acoustic, thermal, and hot-gas ingestion environments. The F-35C is the carrier variant of the three-service Joint Strike Fighter, and has larger wing surfaces and reinforced landing gear to perform in the demanding carrier environment. The F-35C and F-35B are undergoing test and evaluation at NAS Patuxent River prior to eventual delivery to the fleet. (Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin)

 

 

Wow.


The F-35 is moving right along.


You know that certain parties (Sweetman...Wall...APA....fellow travelers) are banging there heads saying please make it stop!


I love it!

F-35 arrives at Lakehurst

F-35 carrier variant CF-2 flies to NAVAIR at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., June 25 for Jet Blast Deflector testing.

USAF Maj. Gen. C.D. Moore upbeat on F-35 test progress.

Pound sand Air Power Australia!  Your prediction of program failure is wrong again.

F-35 Stealth Controversy. Air Force Magazine drives the final nail in the lie.

Via Air Force Magazine.

F-35 Partners Get Equal Stealth: Le Bourget, France—International partners on the F-35 will enjoy a stealth capability on the fighter equal to that of the US versions, according to F-35 program office officials. Maj. Gen. C.D. Moore, deputy director of the F-35 program office, gave a non-committal answer during a press conference here this week at the Paris Air Show when a reporter asked about the level of stealth available to foreign users. International reporters have long hinted that the United States would hold back some capability. However in a subsequent statement issued by the F-35 program office, officials said "the quick answer to the statement regarding partners being less stealthy than the US is 'no.' (Partners will have same capability)." The program officials noted that the stealth aspects of some partner versions will vary slightly due to their inclusion of some unique gear, such as drag chutes, but it is "a program objective to not impact [low-observable] characteristics. It is our intent to produce a common solution to ensure interoperability for coalition operations as well as production affordability."

—John A. Tirpak

Finally.

It seems like we won't have the same nonsense of two paid hacks that happen to wear General's stars debating this till the end of time.

Stick a fork in this boys.

The story is over.

The facts are there for all to see.

The partner nations will get equal stealth.

Now all we have to do is wait for the next made up lie.  Coming your way in 3...2...1....

In praise of the F-35B! The future of carrier aviation.

Thanks for the heads up on these two articles Phil!

Despite all the manufactured nonsense regarding the stealth characteristics of the F-35, it appears that some military thinkers are looking at things rationally, sensibly and with an eye toward future conflicts/roles/functions.

The articles are from The Early Warning Blog and Danger Room.

Read both articles in their entirety but here's a tidbit.  First from The Early Warning Blog.

Pity poor Britain, which decided to cancel its acquisition of the F-35B in favor of the conventional carrier variant. An equally good aircraft, the F-35C requires a full deck carrier. The British are building two, one to use and one to mothball. But because the Cameron government has decided to retire the British Harriers, the two existing carriers will only operate helicopters until such time as they are decommissioned.
So today it is the Italian navy that is providing responsive air assets for the Libyan campaign using Harriers launched from its aircraft carrier. Britain is forced to fly Tornado and Typhoon jets from Italian airbases with all the refueling that requires and the wear and tear on pilots and aircraft. This conflict signals the end of Great Britain as a naval power. It also underscores the value to NATO and its members of having a weapons system as flexible as the F-35B in future conflicts.

This is the argument that Sharkey Ward over at the Phoenix Think Tank has been putting forward.  The Royal Navy is in decline and will suffer an extended period of incalculable risk because of the decision to retire its Harriers.  The issue for the UK isn't simply an inter service battle however.  Its more important than that.  It exposes a risk to that nation.  An unacceptable one in my eyes. 

The next article is from the Danger Room.  This one should cause fear in the ward rooms of every Super Carrier at sea.  The real threat to our flat tops isn't 'ballistic anti-carrier missiles'....it isn't SSK's....it isn't hyper sonic cruise missiles.  Its the threat that LHD sized carriers will be proven to be just as efficient, cheaper and more economical to run and maintain.  If the X-47 is ever able to operate off LHD's then stick a fork in the super carrier.

“Moving away from highly expensive and vulnerable supercarriers toward smaller, light carriers would bring the additional benefit of increasing our nation’s engagement potential.” It would also spread out U.S. naval air power instead of concentrating it in just a few places, where it can be more easily knocked out.
Hendrix’s controversial argument is the subject of my first piece for AOL’s new military website.

To be clear: no one, including Hendrix, is claiming big carriers will become totally obsolete overnight. Besides the U.S., Britain, India and especially China are all building brand-new large carriers, though none quite as big as America’s 11 Nimitz- and Enterprise-class ships, each displacing around 100,000 tons. Hendrix insists the Navy keep some of its nuclear supercarriers as a “heavy surge force” capable of steaming into action during a major crisis.
Outgoing secretary of defense Robert Gates echoed that sentiment in a speech last year.
But for routine patrols, the Navy should have a larger number of smaller flattops. Hendrix doesn’t propose a specific number, but he does point out that three, 40,000-ton light carriers could be had for the price of one supercarrier.
A light carrier is viable because of a shift in the way air power is used. During the Cold War, the Navy’s focus was generating at many fighter sorties as possible within the first few days of a full-scale conflict. After all, big shooting wars weren’t expected to last very long. Supercarriers are optimized for that kind of “big and fast” fighting.
Today, conflicts tend to be drawn-out, low-intensity affairs requiring fewer but longer sorties by sea-launched planes. Carriers don’t need to embark as many fighters, or launch them as often. That’s why a smaller carrier is possible, according to Hendrix.

Imagine a fleet of 33 USS America sized carriers operating F-35's from their decks.  That would be beyond impressive.  That would be a sea control force that would terrorize our enemies.

The F-35's haters thought that they would start a storm that would raise doubts about the F-35 with Sweetman's article earlier this week.


Now it not only looks better than ever but it would appear that those of us that believed in the potential of this system are seeing converts to our position.

Life is good.

Norway's F-35

The Norwegian parliament unanimously approved the funding of four F-35A Lightning II fighters on 21 June 2011. These F-35s, which will be delivered to the US-based international training center at Eglin AFB, Florida, in 2016, will be used for initial Royal Norwegian Air Force pilot training. Norway plans to acquire forty-eight of the conventional takeoff and landing variant of the Lightning II to replace its current F-16 fleet by 2023. Norway is one of the nine partner countries involved in the F-35 program. Artist concept by Ed Armstrong

APA and its Cabal declar war and the F-35 stealth debate.

John Reed enters the F-35 fray and gives no new information but continues Sweetman's line of thinking as far as the stealth characteristics of the airplane.  Pity.  I like the guys writing but it appears that he has been seduced by the Dark Lord.  Go to Defense Tech to get the full read but again, here are the tidbits that caught my eye.

The question was raised toward the end of the presser by an Italian journalist who referenced an “Australian source” postulating online that JSF partner nations are getting F-35s that aren’t as stealthy as the American fleet.

I desperately want to know who this Italian Journalist is!  Obviously part of the cabal and I under-estimated how far the tentacles of the Air Power Australia organization reach.  They have a lacky in the Italian press?!

So, there you have it. Moore kinda, sorta tried to say the Aussie report was bunk but didn’t really. Saying the plane is going to meet everyone’s needs doesn’t exactly give the definitive yes, export jets will be less stealthy than American ones or no, all JSFs have the same degree of low-observable tech aboard.

This is the part that annoys me to no end.  The guy cleared up the issue and only belief that the man is telling bald faced lies would lead one to think other wise.  The question was asked and answered. 

Which leaves a simple little question.

Why did someone tap Reed on the shoulder and prompt him to continue this story?

Because it serves the purposes of Air Power Australia and the Merry Band of Haters to attempt to keep this story front and center.

Did I say story?  Sorry.  Let me restate.

It serves Air Power Australia's purposes to keep this lie going as long as possible.  Its bunk and they know it!  But if it sows doubts among partner nations then all is well.


The problem is this.  How do you defend a program against blatant dis-information?


Answer.  You can't.  All you can do is muddle through.  

Well, not quite all you can do.  

What can Lockheed Martin do??????

THEY CAN MAN THE FUCK UP AND PULL ADVERTISING FROM PUBLICATIONS THAT ARE OUT TO KILL THEIR PRODUCTS!!!!!

Grow a pair boys.
  
In case you didn't know it...wars been declared!

Wonder Woman to the rescue

Wonder Woman No. 601 by *AlexGarner

Ya know.  I don't know the guy that's in charge over at Aviation Week but the guy must be about ready to punch walls.


I mean seriously.


His star reporter has a hard-on for the F-35....and he can't get the boy  under control.

So what does an editor in chief do?

Do you sack the guy?

No.

A couple of other publications would be all over him.

Do you suspend him?

Naw...tried that, it didn't work.

So what do you do?

You have other reporters on your staff write corrections.

Let me introduce you to Amy Butler aka Wonder Woman.

Partners to Get Equal JSF Stealth Posted by Amy Butler at 6/22/2011 9:17 AM CDT

JSF partners and customers will be able to have the same stealth characteristics as the U.S., according to Joe Dellavedova, the F-35 program office spokesman. 

There is a caveat: "each partner will have the option to add 'unique' capabilities that may have minor LO characteristics," he tells Aviation Week. One example, he says, is the addition of a drag chute, an item Norway has eyed. 

Such "capabilities may have minor implications on LO characteristics," Dellavedova says. Dellavedova made his comments in response to follow up questions during the F-35 briefing at this week's Paris Air Show. During the briefing, deputy program manager USAF Maj. Gen. CD Moore and Lockheed Martin executive vice president Tom Burbage seemed flatfooted at a question posed by a journalist asking whether a report in the Australian media that the radar cross section capability would be degraded for the partners. 

Moore said, "All I can tell you is we have every intent on meeting the KPPs on the aircraft as designated by our partners," adding that the report was "speculative." 

After the briefing, a program source also said the discussion about RCS is largely classified.

Totally different from Sweetman's earlier post huh?

Aviation Week must be in turmoil!

I wish I could be a fly on those walls.  Watch your back Amy!  The Dark Lord might be after you!

Sweetman bashes the F-35 in 3...2...1...

I'd say that I was surprised but I'm not.

I'd say that I'm disappointed but that's not strong enough.

I guess the best description is...Par for the course.

Read it here but check out this turn of phrase.

The two program leaders broke left and right and demonstrated evasive maneuvers that would have done credit to an Su-35 formation tackling a salvo of AMRAAMs. The report was speculative with no access to program information. The partners have been fully involved in defining requirements. The F-35 will meet all its requirements. And so on and so forth. Following it was enough to cause a G-LOC episode.

Sweetman is spoiling for a fight on the JSF.  He walked into that briefing room ready to confront the program officials, not gather information.

Who was it that asked the question I wonder?  Was it one of Sweetman's sycophants?  Probably.

He wants a fight so badly that he's seeing boogey men where none exist.

Damn bro.  You're better than this.