F35B Airwing

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ivorthediver
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Re: F35B Airwing

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EVERY LITTLE HELPS they say .... ;)
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Pelican
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Re: F35B Airwing

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ivorthediver wrote: Fri Oct 29, 2021 8:04 pm EVERY LITTLE HELPS they say .... ;)


At around £250m they ought to!
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Blackbat242
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Re: F35B Airwing

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Pelican wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:48 pm Raytheon CEO: Air Force may not be able to afford new F-35 engine


The Air Force may decide that it can’t afford to build an entirely new, advanced engine for its F-35A Lightning II fighter jet, the Raytheon Technologies chief executive said Tuesday.

In 2016, the Air Force awarded Raytheon-owned Pratt & Whitney and General Electric Aviation each a billion-dollar contract to develop a new F-35A engine under the Adaptive Engine Transition Program. This engine is intended to deliver better fuel efficiency and thrust by using a third stream of air.

Continues at - https://www.defensenews.com/air/2021/10 ... wmUnNsBMEA
Apparently the new engine designs won't fit in the -B & -C variants for some reason... leaving it a "USAF-only" project.
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Pelican
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Re: F35B Airwing

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Blackbat242 wrote: Sun Oct 31, 2021 4:39 am
Pelican wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:48 pm Raytheon CEO: Air Force may not be able to afford new F-35 engine


The Air Force may decide that it can’t afford to build an entirely new, advanced engine for its F-35A Lightning II fighter jet, the Raytheon Technologies chief executive said Tuesday.

In 2016, the Air Force awarded Raytheon-owned Pratt & Whitney and General Electric Aviation each a billion-dollar contract to develop a new F-35A engine under the Adaptive Engine Transition Program. This engine is intended to deliver better fuel efficiency and thrust by using a third stream of air.

Continues at - https://www.defensenews.com/air/2021/10 ... wmUnNsBMEA
Apparently the new engine designs won't fit in the -B & -C variants for some reason... leaving it a "USAF-only" project.
Following from Wiki ENGINE at - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_ ... ghtning_II

The F135-PW-600 variant for the F-35B incorporates the SDLF to allow STOVL operations. Designed by Lockheed Martin and developed by Rolls-Royce, the SDLF, also known as the Rolls-Royce LiftSystem, consists of the lift fan, drive shaft, two roll posts, and a "three-bearing swivel module" (3BSM). The thrust vectoring 3BSM nozzle allows the main engine exhaust to be deflected downward at the tail of the aircraft and is moved by a "fueldraulic" actuator that uses pressurized fuel as the working fluid.[194][195][196] Unlike the Harrier's Pegasus engine that entirely uses direct engine thrust for lift, the F-35B's system augments the swivel nozzle's thrust with the lift fan; the fan is powered by the low-pressure turbine through a drive shaft when engaged with a clutch and placed near the front of the aircraft to provide a counterbalancing thrust.[197][198][199] Roll control during slow flight is achieved by diverting unheated engine bypass air through wing-mounted thrust nozzles called roll posts.

The F-35 is expected to receive propulsion upgrades over its lifecycle in order to adapt to emerging threats and enable additional capabilities.

In 2020, P&W shifted its F135 upgrade plan from the Growth Options to a series of Engine Enhancement Packages along with some additional capabilities, while the XA101 became a separate clean-sheet design. The capability packages are planned to be incorporated in two-year increments starting in the mid-2020s
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Re: F35B Airwing

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ASRAAM Block 6 standard is due to enter service on Typhoon in 2022 and F-35 Lightning II in 2024.


John Healey, MP for Wentworth and Dearne, aked via a written question:

“To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the ASRAAM Sustainment programme has entered service on the (a) Typhoons and (b) F-35 IIs.”

Jeremy Quin, Minister for Defence Procurement, responded:

“The ASRAAM sustainment programme continues to be delivered within Complex Weapons Portfolio contract price. On current plans, the resultant ASRAAM Block 6 standard is due to enter service on Typhoon in 2022 and F-35 Lightning II in 2024.”

ASRAAM is in service with the Royal Air Force as its ‘Within Visual Range’ anti-air missile. The weapon is also in operational service with the Royal Australian Air Force on its F/A-18 Hornet.

According to MBDA:

“In Within Visual Range (WVR) air combat, the ability to strike first is vital. A pilot engaging an enemy needs a missile that reacts more rapidly than ever before with the speed and agility to maximise the probability of a kill, regardless of evasive target manoeuvres or the deployment of countermeasures. ASRAAM has proven this capability.

ASRAAM accepts target information via the aircraft sensors, such as the radar or helmet mounted sight but can also act as an autonomous infrared search and track system. The RAAF has demonstrated successful ‘over the shoulder’ firing in Lock On After Launch (LOAL) mode against target drones that were behind the wing-line of the launch aircraft.”

The new block 6 ASRAAM was developed to meet UK requirements, and this incorporated new and updated sub-systems, including a new-generation seeker of increased pixel density, and a built-in cryogenic cooling system.

This new seeker is manufactured in Bolton, England, and is entirely U.S. international traffic in arms regulations (ITAR) subjected components free. Why does that matter? According to this source, a previous attempt to sell the missile to Saudi Arabia was scuttled because of objections from Washington. The missile’s seeker is made in American, thus requiring export approval from the United States.

MBDA has developed a new Block 6 variant of the ASRAAM dogfight missile that removes American-made components so that any export of the weapon will not be subjected to ITAR.

Source UKDJ
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Re: F35B Airwing

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Re: F35B Airwing

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F35B LOSS - SOME INFO

Average water depths in the Levantine Sea to the South of Cyprus range from approx. 200m (white areas) to 3,000m (light blue).
(Image Google Earth)

[To be continued if appropriate.]
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Re: F35B Airwing

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Pelican wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 4:39 pm F35B LOSS - SOME INFO

Average water depths in the Levantine Sea to the South of Cyprus range from approx. 200m (white areas) to 3,000m (light blue).
(Image Google Earth)

[To be continued if appropriate.]
Royal Navy and US salvage team work to recover F-35 that crashed in Mediterranean


A joint British and American operation is underway to find an F-35B warplane with highly advanced secret technology in waters two kilometres deep in the Mediterranean after it crashed while taking off from an aircraft carrier.

The entry point of the fast-jet into the ocean was not far from the vessel, HMS Queen Elizabeth. However, the aircraft’s wings would have made it glide underwater for a distance before sinking to the bottom, say defence officials, making locating it a complex process.

The immediate focus would be to recover the most sensitive equipment from the aircraft, which cost about £100m each.

The weapons and computer systems onboard would be of great value to adversaries, and the sea lanes where the crash happened are frequently used by Russian submarines and surface vessels.

Any attempts by a non-allied state to get to the wreckage will be tracked and “appropriate action taken”, say military sources, while stressing that a stand-off would be an unlikely scenario.

The pilot, who ejected from the jet and was picked up by a helicopter, has not suffered serious injuries. An investigation has started into the accident. The Ministry of Defence say there are no immediate plans to suspend the F-35B fleet from flying.

An American unit based in Spain specialising in undersea salvage will be part of the recovery mission alongside UK counterparts. There are 10 American F-35Bs onboard the Queen Elizabeth in addition to eight British planes.

One reason for the US involvement in the recovery process is that the technology onboard the F-35B is American.

Continues at - https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/r ... OmOy-4OICo
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Re: F35B Airwing

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[Usually if you click on a Tweeted photo it will come up larger.]

Update on recovery of ditched F-35B
The Times reports UK has asked for US assistance. Official sources confirm this. Although RN has some underwater recovery capabilities it’s centred on Faslane. USN has appropriate assets closer to the scene based in Rota, Spain.
See - https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/ ... 7079226378

The USN operates a Towed Pinger Locator 25 (TPL-25) - a sensitive hydrophone that can be used for listening for the aircraft's emergency locator beacon that would activate on ditching.
See photo at - https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/ ... 2985899020

The USN has successfully recovered wreckage of aircraft from great depths in the past.
In March 2021 a Seahawk helicopter lying 3.6 miles(!) down off the coast of Okinawa was brought to the surface - the world record for recovery of sunken aircraft.
2 photos at - https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/ ... 2203234308

Once located, ROVs used to attach inflatable bags to fuselage, then slowly inflated to raise the wreckage. This operation would obviously be considerably complicated if airframe not largely intact. When recovered, wreckage likely be landed in nearby Cyprus for examination.
Photo at - https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/ ... 0769168385
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Re: F35B Airwing

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