F-35 Export

[Ayoshi]

Japan deploys first F-35A fighter jet to Misawa AB | Air Recognition - 28 January 2018

Japan deployed its first F-35A stealth fighter on Friday at the Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture in the country's northeast, the country's defense ministry stated on January 26, 2018. The deployment of the next-generation fighter marks the beginning of the formation of an Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) squadron comprising 10 of the jets at the base from the next fiscal year starting in April, the defense ministry said.

Japan's first F-35A fighter jet at Misawa AB (Credit: JASDF)

[Ayoshi]

Italian MoD takes delivery of first non-US built F-35B | Janes - 29 January 2018

The short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) fighter was assembled at the Final Assembly and Check Out (FACO) facility at Cameri in Italy ahead of its eventual delivery to the Italian Navy. Previously, a number of non-US conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) F-35A aircraft have been built at Cameri and at Nagoya in Japan.

Italy has a requirement for 30 F-35Bs (15 each to be operated by the Italian Air Force and the Italian Navy) and 60 F-35As. The first test, evaluation, and training F-35A was delivered to the air force in December 2015, with the final JSF scheduled to be handed over in 2027.

The first non-US built F-35B was handed over to the Italy's Ministry of Defence on 25 January. Source: Lockheed Martin

[Ayoshi]

Denmark positions F-35 funds | Janes - 19 February 2018

The Danish Central Bank has completed the hedging of payments of USD3.7 billion so that the department of defence is able to acquire the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter at fixed price in its local currency.

Copenhagen agreed in 2016 to acquire 27 conventional take-off and landing F-35A variants of the fighter to replace its incumbent F-16 fleet, and has hedged the dollars so that they are available at a fixed price when they are needed.

[Ayoshi]

RAAF receives first F-35A mobile mission system facilities | Air Recognition - 05 March 2018

The first two mobile mission system facilities to support the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) F-35A aircraft have been delivered by Lockheed Martin Australia, the RAAF announced on March 5, 2018.

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Providing for Australia's future air combat and strike needs, Australia is purchasing 72 F-35A aircraft to replace 71 ageing F/A-18A/B Hornets.

Headquartered in Canberra, Lockheed Martin Australia is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation and employs more than 900 people in Australia across the aerospace, defence and civil sectors.

[Ayoshi]

Luftwaffe chief dismissed over F-35 support | Janes - 16 March 2018

The Chief of the Luftwaffe is to leave his position in large part due to his support for a German procurement of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), Jane’s has learned.

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The Chief of the Luftwaffe’s active support of the JSF clashes with current Ministry of Defence planning, which prefers a successor solution involving the Eurofighter Typhoon.

[El_commandante]

The Philippines should go for broke and get the F35 instead
 ( assuming the US is willing to sell it to us) Because stealth is the future. The price of the F35 is expected to go down more soon, and if the US would sell it to India, Saudi Arabia and UAE the price of the F35 would go down further, probably about the same price as the Eurofighter. Forget the short leg and less payload GRIPPEN or even the soon to be out of production F16 jets. It takes almost a decade to complete the delivery of about 24 Grippen and F16 jets. The reason is because Lockheed and Saab is trying to stretch the
Manufacturing process. To maintain the production line for as long as possible and hoping for more orders to come before they lay off thousands of highly skilled aerospace workers.

If we have to wait until the end of the term of the President, or ten more years from now, so be it. A decade from now, I expect our economy to be very strong enough to jump start a modest but still vigorous military modernization program.

[Ayoshi]

From: defensenews.com

South Korea’s F-35 purchase under probe

The contract of procuring 40 F-35As signed under the former Park Geun-hye administration has been under intensive investigation with regard to possible influence-peddling over the Lockheed Martin-built multirole fighter’s selection process and price lobbying.

The Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea, or BAI, has widened its probe against the F-35 selection from Seoul’s 2014 F-X III competition, according to defense sources.

By: Mike Yeo
“The BAI inspection over the F-35 purchase was launched late last year, and the inspection has been widened since January,” Kang Hwan-seok, spokesman of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, or DAPA, told Defense News. The spokesman declined to elaborate on the contents of the probe.

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Strike planned at Italy F-35 assembly line

Unions planning the one-day strike said 600 staff at Cameri Air Base — where Italy is performing F-35 final assembly work — are working on agency contracts, while only 270 are employed directly by Italian defense firm Leonardo, which runs the site.

Owned by the Italian government and operated by state defense firm Leonardo in partnership with Lockheed Martin, Cameri has delivered nine F-35As to the Italian Air Force.

Five are now flying from Italy’s Amendola Air Base and four are involved in pilot training at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona.

On March 1, the F-35s at Amendola became operational assets within Italy’s air defense system, the Italian Air Force said.

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Lockheed, US Air Force mount F-35 sales pitch at Berlin Air Show

The U.S. Air Force plans to present two specimens of its fifth-generation aircraft as a static display at the show, which starts Wednesday. The two planes arrived from Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, on Sunday evening after what officials termed the aircraft’s longest nonstop flight, at 11-plus hours.

Manufacturer Lockheed Martin said the U.S. air service, as the weapons’ owner, has the lead on the exhibit planning in Berlin. No F-35 flight demonstrations were planned as of Monday.

“The Berlin Air Show represents a unique opportunity for the United States to showcase its leadership in aerospace technologies while supporting various armament procurement competitions taking place throughout Europe,” U.S. European Command said in a statement.

[Ayoshi]

First F-35A training equipment delivered to RAAF | Air Recognition - 04 May 2018

“This delivery includes an Ejection Systems Maintenance Trainer which is a replica of the F-35A aircraft escape systems and a Weapons Load Trainer, which replicates the F-35A fuselage, including the weapons bay and wing hard points.

“The equipment will provide Australia with its own F-35 pilot and maintainer training capability and will form part of the overall Australian F-35A Training System,” Minister Payne said.

"Importantly this equipment will enable our pilots and crews to train without having to remove aircraft from flight schedules.

“This is an important milestone with two of Australia’s F-35A aircraft to be based at RAAF Base Williamtown from December 2018 and pilot training expected to commence at Williamtown from mid next year."

[Ayoshi]

US lawmaker proposes banning F-35 sales to Turkey | Janes - 18 May 2018

Representative David Cicilline of Rhode Island’s legislation prohibits the sale or transfer of F-35 aircraft and any intellectual property (IP) or technical data to Turkey, according to a statement. The ban can only be lifted if the US president certifies that Turkey is not taking steps to degrade North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) interoperability, exposing NATO assets to hostile actors, and degrading the general security of NATO member countries.

The bill also requires that Turkey is not seeking to import or purchase defence articles from a foreign country under US sanctions, wrongfully or unlawfully detaining one or more US citizens, or engaging in military action without taking proper steps to ensure that international legal norms are followed to prevent civilian deaths and suffering.

Turkey is a partner on the F-35 programme and joined during the system development and demonstration (SDD) phase. As a partner, Turkish industries are eligible to become suppliers to the global F-35 fleet for the life of the programme with industrial opportunities expected to reach USD12 billion, according to Lockheed Martin.

Turkey plans to purchase 100 conventional F-35A aircraft. The Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) did not respond to a request for comment by press time. Cicilline’s office was unable to respond to a request for comment by press time. A staffer with Cicilline’s office said a similar amendment has been drafted for when the House considers the fiscal year 2019 defence authorisation bill. Cicilline serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

[Ayoshi]

Three additional F-35s for Norwegian Air Force | Air Recognition - 24 May 2018

On May 22, Norway took delivery of three new F-35 jet fighters at Ordland Air Base. The arrival of the fighters brings the total number of F-35s housed in-country for the Royal Norwegian Air Force up to six following initial delivery of the first three aircraft in November 2017. Another seven are stationed in the United States at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona where they are used for training and pilot/crew familiarity education.

Norway plans to take delivery of six F-35s each year through 2024 (Picture source: Luke AF Mil)

[Ayoshi]

Despite some opposition, US on course to deliver F-35s to Turkey on June 21 | Defense news

A Lockheed Martin spokesman confirmed to Defense News that it’s still gearing up for a rollout ceremony at its production facilities in Fort Worth next week.

“The F-35 program traditionally hosts a ceremony to recognize every U.S. and international customer’s first aircraft. The rollout ceremony for Turkey’s first F-35 aircraft is scheduled for June 21,” the spokesman said in a written statement to Defense News.

“The aircraft will then ferry to Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, where Turkish pilots will join the F-35A training pool.”

The Senate is set to vote this week on the annual defense policy bill, which includes language that would prohibit the U.S. government from “transfer of title” to Turkey until the time that the Defense Department submits a report to Congress on removal of Turkey from the F-35 program.

[Ayoshi]

Australian F-35 fleet to receive Quickstep and Chemring countermeasures flares | Air Recognition - 03 August 2018

Chemring Australia, a provider of pyrotechnic and countermeasures, received a $1.2 million Local Industry Fund for Transition (LIFT) grant from the Victorian Government to expand and modernize its manufacturing facility in Lara and create 40 new jobs. The expanded facility will develop and commission new advanced manufacturing technology for the production and testing of JSF countermeasure flares, capable of countering the threat to the aircraft from ground or air launched infrared-guided missiles. "We’re making sure manufacturing has a strong future in Victoria. With companies like Chemring Australia at the forefront of their field - that future is bright," Minister Carroll said.

Carbon fiber manufacturer Quickstep received a $1 million grant from the New Air Combat Capability - Industry Support Program to establish world-class advanced manufacturing capabilities for production of F-35 countermeasure flare housings, which will then be supplied to Chemring. Already a key supplier into the global F-35 Program, the company will also commission additional advanced manufacturing processes and technologies at Bankstown, extending its capability to support the F-35 Program and other defence and aerospace projects.

RAAF Lockheed Martin F-35A (Picture source: Australian MoD)

[Ayoshi]

US, Turkey continuing F-35 collaboration | Janes - 22 August 2018

Despite the US government bringing into effect a law that suspends deliveries of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter to Turkey, the programme office for the aircraft’s acquisition has claimed that it will continue to honour the project’s existing plans.

[Ayoshi]

UK F-35B completes first flight test with ASRAAM missile | Air Recognition - 30 August 2018

Britain’s new stealth fighter jet, the F-35B Lightning, has carried out its first trials armed with UK-built weapons, showcasing the major role that the UK plays in the supersonic aircraft and bringing it a step closer to operations on the frontline.

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The jet, which was flown by a British pilot from RAF 17 Squadron, took to the skies from Edwards Air Force base in southern California for the momentous flight carrying ASRAAM air-to-air missiles.

MBDA's ASRAAM missile fitted on a British F-35B fighter jet (Credit: Lockheed Martin)
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MBDA's ASRAAM missile fitted on a British F-35B fighter jet (Credit: Lockheed Martin)

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Australia to build F-35 engine maintenance facility in Queensland | Janes - 31 August 2018

Australian company TAE Aerospace will develop a turbine engine maintenance facility in Bundamba, southeast Queensland, to support in-country sustainment of the Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF's) Lockheed Martin F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.

The new facility "will support maintenance, repair, overhaul, and upgrade activities for not only Australian F135 engines but also [for] engines from around the Asia-Pacific region and the world," Defence Minister Christopher Pyne said in a 31 August statement.

[Ayoshi]

RAAF F-35A launches GBU-31 guided bombs for the first time | Air Recognition - 04 September 2018

An Australian F-35A aircraft dropped two inert GBU-31v3 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) weapons for the first time on July 20, marking a ground-breaking step in the evolution of Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) fifth-generation strike capability, the Australian Defence Ministry said on September 3.

The Royal Australian Air Force took an important step towards making their F-35A Joint Strike Fighters combat ready when an Australian aircraft, A35-006, successfully dropped two inert GBU-31v3 guided bomb units on 20 July 2018
(Credit: Larone Thomas/Australian MoD)