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The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter ('''JSF''') is a (US), Harrier GR7/9 (UK), and the Sea Harrier (UK), along with the conventional A-10 Thunderbolt II , F/A-18 Hornet and the F-16 Fighting Falcon . It will be a multi-role Strike Fighter (a plane with a strong emphasis on Close Air Support and tactical bombing as well as being capable of air-to-air combat), and will use Stealth Technology . It is currently in production with Lockheed Martin , along with partners Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems . Three variants are planned: the Conventional Takeoff and Landing ( CTOL ) F-35A for the U.S. Air Force (USAF); the Short Take-Off Vertical Landing ( STOVL ) F-35B for the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Navy (RN); and the Carrier -based (CV) F-35C for the U.S. Navy (USN). The joint development program is aimed at controlling development and production costs; the three variants have over 80% of their parts in common. The designation "F-35" was chosen at the Department of Defense level; in proper sequence the aircraft should have been designated F-24A, following the YF-23 Black Widow II . The selection of "F-35" for the operational version caused some consternation at Lockheed Martin, who had already printed up promotional material for the aircraft using the "F-24" designation. The "F-24" designation seems politically undesirable for some reason; a previous aircraft that would have been designated F-24 was the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet . The F-35, expected to be ready for service in 2011, is scheduled to begin replacing USAF A-10 Thunderbolt II's and F-16's in 2011, and Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers and F/A-18s in 2012. INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATION propulsion system is designed and manufactured by Rolls-Royce Plc .]] The primary customers are the armed forces of the United States (USAF, USN, and USMC) and the United Kingdom (RAF and RN). There are three levels of international participation for the eight countries contributing to the program. The United Kingdom is the sole level I partner, contributing a little over $2 billion. Level II partners are Italy and the Netherlands , contributing $1 billion and $800 million respectively. At level III are Turkey ($175 million), Australia ($144 million), Norway ($122 million), Denmark ($110 million), and Canada ($100 million). The levels generally indicate the financial stake in the program, the level of technology transfer and subcontracts open for bid by national companies, and the general order in which countries can obtain production aircraft. Israel and Singapore have also joined as Security Cooperative Participants. Katherine V. Schnasi Joint Strike Fighter Acquisition: Observations on the Supplier Base ''US Accounts Office''. Retrieved Feb. 08, 2006. International participants have at various times been cited as considering withdrawing from the JSF Program in favor of other aircraft such as Eurofighter Typhoon , Gripen or Rafale . Technology transfer issues and perceived inequitable sharing in JSF production are most often cited as reasons for considering withdrawal, rather than cost or performance concerns. United Kingdom participation The United Kingdom has invested $2 billion in development funding for the project. Britain has also worked for five years for an ITAR waiver to allow greater technology transfer associated with the project. The effort, backed by the Bush administration, has been repeatedly blocked by U.S. Congressman Henry Hyde because of his concern about potential technology transfer to third countries. Spiegel, Peter, MSNBC UK denied waiver on US arms technology . ''Financial Times'' (MSNBC reprint). Retrieved Feb. 08, 2006. The CEO of aircraft commenced on 2 February 2006 .Helen Jocelyn Lift-Off as production starts on first STOVL F-35 ''BAE Systems''. Retrieved Feb.08, 2006. Following on from this . Mike Turner has said it is not what he recommend, but: "as Lord Drayson has made clear, there needs to be a fall-back in case something goes wrong. Therefore, we would suggest there should be an investigation into navalising Typhoon as very much a fall-back solution." Australian participation In May 2005 the Australian government announced that it was delaying a final decision on the JSF from the initial 2006 decision date to 2008 (and thus past the term of the present government). Air Force opinion remains strongly in favour of the JSF. There are some concerns amongst Australian media, lobby groups and politicians, who have raised doubts that the aircraft will be ready in time to replace the aging Australian air force fleet of F-111 ground attack planes and F/A-18 fighters. Concerns have been raised over cost efficiency, Dog Fighting capability, short range and lack of Supercruise . Some advocates of an F-22 purchase also claim that the cost of purchasing mature F-22s may not be that much greater than the JSF. Related discussions and analyzes on Air Power Australia web site . These claims are currently being examined in a parliamentary inquiry Inquiry into Australian Defence Force Regional Air Superiority , Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Trade, Australian Parliament PROGRAM HISTORY (left) and Lockheed Martin X-35 prior to down-select in 2001, where the X-35 was chosen. DoD photo]] The Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) program was created in 1993 as a result of a United States Department Of Defense (DoD) ''Bottom-Up-Review''. The major tactical aviation results of the review were to continue the ongoing F-22 and F/A-18E/F programs, cancel the Multi-Role Fighter (MRF) and the A/F-X programs, curtail F-16 and F/A-18C/D procurement, and initiate the JAST Program. The JAST program office was established on January 27 , 1994 . It was established to define and develop Aircraft , Weapon , and Sensor Technology that would support the future development of tactical aircraft. The final goal was to replace several aging U.S. and UK aircraft with a common family of aircraft, of which the JSF is one example. It will complement the USAF's high-end F-22 Raptor air superiority fighter and the USN's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet as well as Europe's Eurofighter . Concept demonstration The contract for development of the prototypes was awarded on 16 November 1996 to Lockheed Martin and Boeing , under which each was to produce two aircraft which were to demonstrate Conventional Take Off and Landing (CTOL), carrier take off and landing (CV version), and Short Take Off and Vertical Landing ( STOVL ). Also in 1996 the UK Ministry Of Defence launched the Future Carrier Borne Aircraft project, a replacement for the Sea Harrier (and later the Harrier GR7 ), for which the Joint Strike Fighter was selected in January 2001. System development and demonstration The construction contract, System Development and Demonstration (SDD), was awarded on 26 October , 2001 to the Lockheed Martin X-35, beating the Boeing X-32 . The first planes are expected to enter service in 2008. Announcing the decision, DoD officials and the UK Minister Of Defence Procurement said that while both aircraft met or exceeded requirements, the X-35 outperformed the Boeing aircraft consistently. On February 19 , 2006 , the first F-35 (USAF version) was rolled out in Fort Worth , Texas by Lockheed Martin. The aircraft will undergo extensive ground testing and then flight tests in the fall. DESIGN , which the JSF is set to replace.]] The JSF exists in three primary variants. The F-35A, F-35B, and F-35C. For the JSF Trials, only the F-35A and F-35B models were demonstrated. The F-35A is the smallest, lightest version, which uses conventional takeoff and landing, The F-35A is intended for use primarily by the U.S. Air Force. The F-35C is the largest F-35, with the largest wingspan and the heaviest, most reinforced fueselage. The F-35C is intended for use as a carrier based aircraft, the larger wing area allowing more control at low carrier landing velocities and high glide angles, and the reinforced fueselage required for the extremes of carrier arrested landings and catapult launches. The final F-35 variant is the F-35B VSTOL aircraft, often referred to as the F-35 Marine version. The F-35B is clearly intended to replace the U.S. Marine Corps' AV-8B Harrier strike jets, while retaining parts commonality with other F-35 aircraft. The X-35 powerplant uses the highly complex Remote Shaft-Driven Lift Fan concept. Turbine power is diverted forward via a clutch-and-bevel gearbox, to a vertically mounted, contra-rotating lift fan located forward of the main engine in the center of the aircraft. Bypass air from the turbofan exhausts through a pair of roll post nozzles on either side of the fuselage, while both the lift fan and the LP turbine streams exhaust through thrust vectoring nozzles. In effect, the X-35 power plant acts as a flow multiplier and consequently has more than sufficient thrust for lift operations. This lift concept has the additional benefit of lowering environmental effects during (primarily) landing, where the thermal effects on, for example, a carrier deck are greatly reduced. The rival Boeing X-32 adopted the Direct Lift System, where the engine exhaust gases were redirected to thrust vectoring nozzles to achieve lift during a STOVL landing. However, even though the fan was oversized and throttle-pushed, it was said to suffer insufficient thrust for lift. Because of the large required engine airflow, the X-32 had a large front air intake, compromising the aesthetics and the aircraft's aerodynamics. According to critics, Boeing designed an airplane "only its mother would love", in violation of the maxim "if it looks good, it flies good". Both the X-32 and X-35 power plants were derived from Pratt & Whitney F119, with the STOVL variant of the latter incorporating a Rolls Royce Lift Fan module. Arguably the most persuasive demonstration of the X-35's capability was the final qualifying flight of the JSF Trials, wherein the X-35B STOVL aircraft traveled in excess of Mach 1 for a duration, and then performed a vertical landing. Elements of the Lockheed X-35 design were pioneered by the F-22. The airframe appears quite similar to the F-22, albeit somewhat reduced in size, and only has a single engine. Primary factors in the design included:
The F-35 will be the first combat aircraft in recent history without a Heads-up-display , relying completely on the helmet-mounted display. 1 Advanced weapons The direct lift fan assembly, when not installed, provides approximately 100 ft3 of space Morris, Jefferson (s possible for the F-35. Some of these designs, including solid state lasers and high-power microwave beams, are thought to be nearing operational status Fulghum, David A. ( July 22 2002 ). [http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:nDo39ApEoK4J:www.aviationnow.com/content/publication/awst/20020722/aw173.htm ''Lasers, HPM Weapons Near Operational Status'']. ''Aviation Week and Space Technology'' Retrieved Feb. 08, 2006.. ANALYSIS OF JSF PROGRAM Critics of the program maintain that the JSF suffers from ill-defined design goals; that it has insufficient range to make a capable replacement for dedicated bombing aircraft; that its inability to Supercruise limits it as an air defense platform, and that it is almost certain to suffer lengthy development delays and cost overruns; meaning that interim types will have to be purchased to fill the gap between the end of useful life of existing fleets and the introduction of the JSF. However, it is important to note that the multi-role design philosophy has been tested and proven in combat over a period of at least 25 years, with successful types like the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the F-18 Hornet. Several nations, mainly current F-16 and F-18 users, already have sufficient confidence in the design to have committed substantial sums to become minority partners in the JSF manufacturing team. The program's advocates see the JSF as an opportunity to break out of the decades-old pattern of U.S. military aircraft procurement: instead of a traditional per-service design approach, the JSF is being developed jointly by the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. This allows an estimated 80% Commonality between the JSF variants for the different services, lowering procurement and service costs. This follows to a degree the philosophy behind the SEPECAT Jaguar and Panavia Tornado international development programs, the latter being called a multi-role combat aircraft (or MRCA) prior to service entry. Additionally, JSF is the first U.S. aircraft program to consider ''cost as independent variable'' (CAIV). In earlier programs the aircraft cost has been a dependent variable; additional features have always increased the aircraft cost. Such design changes are not being allowed during the JSF development. Non-vehicle differentiator A ground-based information system (the Autonomic Logistic Information System, or ALIS), built by Lockheed Martin Simulation Training and Support, is intended to make the JSF less expensive to operate and maintain. Cost/weight issues Through 2004 the JSF's total projected cost had risen 23% to $244 billion. The major technical problem was the F-35B variant's mass, which was reported to be 2,200 pounds, or 8%, over the target, which meant that the STOVL plane was projected to miss performance requirements. Lockheed Martin eventually solved the weight problem by adding engine thrust and shedding over a ton by thinning the aircraft's skin; shrinking the F-35B weapons bay and vertical tails; redesigning the wing-mate joint, portions of the electrical system, and the portion of the aircraft immediately behind the cockpit; and rerouting some thrust from the roll-post outlets to the main nozzle. Fulghum, David A.; Wall, Robert ( 19 September 2004 ). USAF Plans for Fighters Change . ''Aviation Week and Space Technology'' Retrieved Feb. 08, 2006. The smaller weapons bay will limit F-35B to 2 x 1000 lb (450 kg) weapons internally (this is as originally planned, for the 2 x 2000 lb requirement was added later). This is not expected to be a hindrance in Close Air Support missions, which are likely to take place after enemy air defenses are down. Still, this may make the B variant different from the other two, boosting costs. The internal weapons are stored offline to the external air flow, which will complicate weapons certification testing — no demonstrations of weapons delivery capability were done prior to contract award. USAF STOVL purchase The JSF program is not immune from interservice politics. A recurring theme has been the potential for a USAF requirement for the F-35B. The STOVL variant had been viewed as the most likely victim of cost-cutting measures; however, a USAF "commitment" seems to guarantee the aircraft that the USMC, RN, and RAF need. It is understood that the U.S. military's experience in Afghanistan has highlighted the importance of more flexible assets in the Close Air Support role. The USAF has investigated buying up to three wings (representing 216 examples) of the F-35B. For a time it appeared that the hypothetical USAF variant of the F-35B would contain enough changes to constitute a new variant (an F-35D). Changes were to include differences in the propulsion system to increase emphasis on STOL capability over that of VTOL , a larger wing to allow more fuel, an interior cannon (as opposed to the USMC external gun pod), or changes to the in-flight refueling system. However, due to opposition from people involved with the program, and the associated cost of developing a fourth variant, the USAF version would likely be identical to the USMC/RN F-35B specification. SPECIFICATIONS (F-35 JOINT STRIKE FIGHTER) Some information is estimated.
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