JSF

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In Sardegna ...

... theaviationist.com ... "A Close Look At The Italian F-35A Jets Involved in Advanced “Omnirole” Training In Sardinia" ...

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Da Istrana ... alla Germania ...

Lunedi 11 marzo, sulla pista del 51° Stormo, sono atterrati sei F-35A del 32° Stormo di Amendola (FG) che per circa una settimana hanno operato dalla base trevigiana per raggiungere il Poligono elettronico "Polygone" di Bann in Germania.
L'esercitazione, che prende il nome di Lightening Thunder Over Europe, rientra nell'ambito del processo di consolidamento della piena capacità operativa del 13° Gruppo ed ha avuto il fine di testare la capacità di rischieramento in modalità "out & back" nonché l'abilità di condurre attività di volo sostenuta al di fuori della "home base".
Più in particolare l'addestramento ha avuto l'obiettivo di implementare la capacità di contrasto a sistemi aria-superficie sia reali che simulati nell'ambito dell'espressione dell' Initial Operation Capability (I.O.C) già dimostrata dal sistema d'arma.
I piloti hanno effettuato diverse sortite giornaliere impiegando anche alcuni naviganti del Gruppo in qualità di ufficiali di collegamento presso il poligono tedesco.
La cornice di sicurezza, la cellula manutentiva e lo operazioni di volo sono state supportate dal personale del 51° Stormo nell'ambito della piena integrazione ed interoperabilità dell'Aeronautica Militare.

La fonte ... aeronautica.difesa.it ... "F-35: SEI VELIVOLI DEL 13° GRUPPO PER LA PRIMA VOLTA RISCHIERATI AD ISTRANA" ...

Ma c'era già stato, poco meno di un anno fa, un precedente ...

... aeronautica.difesa.it ... "AL 2° STORMO IL PRIMO RISCHIERAMENTO DI UN F-35A SU UNA BASE OPERATIVA ITALIANA" ...
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[richelieu]

Parole molto chiare ...

Parla il generale Tricarico ...

... huffingtonpost.it ... "Sugli F-35 approssimazione e masochismo" ...

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Turchia, F-35 & S-400 ... il momento delle decisioni si avvicina ...

The United States could soon freeze preparations for delivering F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, officials told Reuters, in what would be the strongest signal yet by Washington that Ankara cannot have both the advanced aircraft and Russia’s S-400 air defense system.
The United States is nearing an inflection point in a years-long standoff with Turkey, a NATO ally, after so far failing to sway President Tayyip Erdogan that buying a Russian air defense system would compromise the security of F-35 aircraft.
“The S-400 is a computer. The F-35 is a computer. You don’t hook your computer to your adversary’s computer and that’s basically what we would be doing,” Katie Wheelbarger, acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, told Reuters.
While no decision has been made yet, U.S. officials confirmed that Washington was considering halting steps now underway to ready Turkey to receive the F-35, which is built by Lockheed Martin Corp.

L'articolo ... reuters.com ... "Exclusive: U.S. may soon pause preparations for delivering F-35s to Turkey" ...

Anche qui ... airforcemag.com ..... "Dunford: Doesn’t Make Sense to Sell F-35s to Turkey if Ankara Buys Russian S-400s" ...
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Lakenheath ... lavori in corso ...

Kier-VolkerFitzpatrick has begun demolition work at Royal Air Force (RAF) Lakenheath in Suffolk in the UK, to prepare the base for the arrival of two squadrons of US Air Force (USAF) F-35 joint strike fighter aircraft.
The work is part of a Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) project to get RAF Lakenheath ready for the F-35 Lightning II combat jets.
As part of the demolition work, the company is demolishing 18 buildings.
Once the work is completed, new infrastructure will be built, including a flight simulator facility, a maintenance unit, hangars and storage facilities.

Segue qui ... airforce-technology.com ... "RAF Lakenheath demolition work clears the way for US F-35 campus" ...
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Turchia, F-35 & S-400 ... nonostante tutto ...

Luke Air Force Base expects to receive two additional F-35A Joint Strike Fighters for its pilot training program with Turkey in coming weeks, even as officials debate complexities surrounding the NATO ally's involvement in the program.
Two jets are expected to arrive at the Arizona base next month, 56th Fighter Wing spokeswoman Maj. Rebecca Heyse said during a phone call Friday.

L'articolo prosegue qui ... military.com ... "Luke Air Force Base Readies for Additional F-35s to Train Turkish Pilots" ...
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IOC per il Giappone ...

... https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... pa-457019/ ...

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Red Flag 19-2 ... le prime analisi ...

RID ... http://www.portaledifesa.it/index~phppag,3_id,2948.html ...

Analisi Difesa ... https://www.analisidifesa.it/2019/03/co ... -red-flag/ ...

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Turchia, F-35 & S-400 ... gli USA compiono un ulteriore passo ...

After months of warnings, the United States has stopped delivery of F-35 fighter jet parts to Turkey in retaliation for Ankara’s decision to move ahead with the purchase of a Russian surface-to-air missile system, U.S. officials said Monday.
Top U.S. government leaders have repeatedly threatened to shut down Turkey’s plan to buy the F-35 advanced fighter aircraft if Turkey didn’t abandon efforts to buy the S-400 Russian system.
Halting the delivery of parts and manuals needed to prepare for the aircraft’s planned delivery this summer is the first step toward ending the actual aircraft sale.
The U.S. move comes just days after Turkey's foreign minister said his country was committed to the deal to buy the Russian system and was discussing delivery dates.

L'articolo ... defensenews.com ... "US stops F-35 fighter jet parts delivery to Turkey" ...
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Turchia, F-35 & S-400 ... la notizia della sospensione della consegna di parti e dei manuali riportata da altre fonti ...

... flightglobal.com ... https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... -t-457097/ ...

... airforcemag.com ... http://www.airforcemag.com/Features/Pag ... spute.aspx ...

... Il precedente ... reuters.com ... https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turk ... SKCN1RA0W6 ...
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RID intervista il CSM dell'Aeronautica Militare che parla dello F-35 e di tanti altri argomenti di attualità ...

... http://www.portaledifesa.it/index~phppag,3_id,2950.html ...

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I primi due F-35 destinati alla ROKAF sono arrivati in Sud Corea ...

... flightglobal.com ... https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... ea-457163/ ...

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If ...

... formiche.net ... "F-35. Perché (e come) l’Italia potrebbe beneficiare dello stop alla Turchia" ...

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Rivelazioni e ... occhio alla data ...

Israel has unveiled their previously classified F-35F Nebekh Joint Social Media Fighter (JSMF).
The new rear seat position in the two-seat F-35F Nebekh is occupied by the SMO or Social Media Officer.
The modification is in response to threats to the F-35 in the social media space.
Gen Hadir Uffani of the IDF told reporters, “The F-35’s primary threats exist in the social media space, so we have made a special variant of the Joint Strike Fighter to counter this threat in real-time.”
The SMO suite consists of integrated sensor fusion that monitors Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat for flamers leveling criticism against the Joint Strike Fighter program.
When critical social media posts from internet know-it-alls and trolls are detected, the system can respond in real-time by assigning a massive arsenal of cat memes to interdict the threat.
The cat memes are stored in a special, low-observable internal hard drive in the aircraft’s stealthy weapons’ bay.

La fake-fonte ... theaviationist.com ... "Revealed: Israel’s Top Secret F-35F JSMF" ...

[Valerio Ricciardi]

scritta anche benissimo!

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Lo chiamano 'hot crew swap' ... un pilota, al termine della sua missione, lascia il velivolo ad un altro pilota che, dopo il rifornimento, decolla per un'altra missione ...

US Air Force pilots and maintainers at Hill AFB in Utah completed the first operational hot crew swap exercise with the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II.
Also, called a “rapid” crew swap, during the operation a pilot takes off, completes his mission, lands and refuels the aircraft, while another pilot takes over the cockpit of the same fighter.
The process cuts down on the number of required maintenance activities and reduces the time it takes to launch new sortie by up to 2h, says the USAF.

L'articolo ... flightglobal.com ... "US Air Force practices Lockheed Martin F-35A hot crew swap" ...

Anche qui ... acc.af.mil ... "F-35A crew swap provides flexibility for training, combat" ...
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Turchia, F-35 & S-400 ... la partita è ancora aperta ...

Dal 'Daily Report' dell' AFA ...

Turkey: S-400 is a “Done Deal,” But That Shouldn’t Impact F-35 Participation ...

Turkey on Wednesday pushed back on the US ultimatum of either the F-35 or a Russian-made missile defense system, reiterating that the S-400 purchase is a “done deal.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, speaking at an event sponsored by the German Marshall Fund as part of the NATO 70th Anniversary event in Washington, D.C., said Turkey can and should buy both the S-400 and the F-35, arguing the country “doesn’t have to choose between Russia and any others. … Nobody, neither west nor Russia, should ask us to choose,” he said.
His comments come one day after Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told reporters (*) he was confident Turkey would change its mind on the S-400 and purchase the US Patriot air defense system instead, enabling them to remain a valuable F-35 partner.
The Russian-made S-400 is serving an “urgent need” for air defenses in Turkey, said Cavusoglu, who added that Turkey has also been a long-term partner on the F-35.
Even though US officials have repeatedly said the two systems cannot function in the same country, Cavusoglu said the combination wouldn’t cause harm to any countries operating the F-35 and emphasized that Turkey is working to “educate” the US Congress on that.
The purchase of the S-400 is part of an increase in trade with Russia, which despite NATO pressure, Cavusoglu says is necessary because “Turkey should have good relations” with Russia.

- Brian Everstine

(*) ... airforcemag.com ... "Shanahan Expects F-35 Deal With Turkey" ...

Impareggiabili ... questi Turchi ...

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USMC ... avanti gli F-35C ...

The Marine Corps is accelerating its F-35C carrier variant Joint Strike Fighter procurement and slowing its F-35B vertical landing variant to support Navy deployment requirements, the Marines’ top aviator told lawmakers today.
In its Fiscal Year 2020 budget request the Marines asked for 10 fewer F-35Bs; in the budget’s projection for outyears, the service dropped its planned F-35B buys by five F-35Bs in 2021 and three in FY 2022.
For the F-35C, though, the service increased its request by nine planes in the five-year Future Years Defense Program.
Lt. Gen. Steven Rudder, deputy commandant of the Marine Corps for aviation, told the House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee that those changes were meant to support upcoming deployments.

L'articolo prosegue qui: news.usni.org .... "Marines Accelerating F-35C Procurement to Support Carrier Deployments; F-35B Buys Would Slow" ...
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La Polonia ... potenzialmente il prossimo acquirente ...
Ma gli Stati Uniti, forse un pò troppo ottimisticamente, sperano in ulteriori vendite anche ad altri paesi che, sotto il punto di vista finanziario, non sarà facile possano permetterselo ...

Poland believes it can accelerate the purchase of up to 32 Lockheed Martin F-35 combat aircraft, following suggestions that the USA is willing to expand the fifth-generation jet's operator base.
In written testimony to the US House of Representatives, Vice Admiral Mat Winter, director of the Joint Strike Fighter programme, indicated that the Department of Defense was considering sales to countries including Greece, Poland, Romania and Spain.

L' articolo ... flightglobal.com ... "Poland hopeful of speeding F-35 acquisition" ...

A meno che gli USA non intendano, con tali vendite, recuperare sul buco che si verrebbe a creare in seguito alla prevedibile cacciata della Turchia dal programma ...

... flightglobal ... "OPINION: Should Washington eject Ankara from F-35 project?" ...
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[richelieu]

Si fanno sempre più insistenti le voci di un litigio fra AMI e MM ...

... adnkronos.com ... "L'Aeronautica scippa gli F35 alla Marina" ...

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Turchia, F-35 & S-400 ...

Da DefenseNews ... "Trump si prenderà cura di questo problema" ... lo afferma, in occasione delle celebrazioni dedicate al 70° anniversario della costituzione della NATO, il Ministro degli Affari Esteri turco ...

... "Trump may ‘take care’ of F-35, S-400 issue, Turkish official claims" ...

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Ancora su Turchia, F-35 & S-400 ...

... airforcetimes.com ... "Here’s how F-35 technology would be compromised if Turkey also had the S-400 anti-aircraft system" ...

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80% di disponibilità operativa ... un traguardo ambizioso ormai a portata di mano ...

Combat units of the Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter fleet within the three US military services and eight international programme partners are on track to reach an 80% mission capability rate by September 2019.
And, the entire F-35 Lightning II fleet should reach an 80% mission capability rate by September 2020, says Vice Admiral Mathias Winter, executive officer of the Joint Programme Office (JPO) in prepared testimony before the US House Armed Services Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee on 4 April.
Early models of the F-35 and training aircraft have posted lower availability rates, but after enough combat-unit aircraft are repaired the JPO believes those aircraft too will be capable of greater reliability.
Reaching an 80% mission capability rate was mandated by former Department of Defense secretary James Mattis for key combat aircraft, including the F-35, Lockheed Martin F-22, Lockheed Martin F-16 and Boeing F/A-18.

Prosegue qui ... flightglobal.com ... "F-35 on track to hit 80% mission capability rate by September 2019" ...

La direttiva ... defensenews.com ... "Mattis orders fighter jet readiness to jump to 80 percent — in one year" ...
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Possibili conseguenze ... in caso di estromissione della Turchia dal programma ...

F-35 production lines are facing long delays in parts deliveries, a fact that would be exacerbated if Turkey is removed from the program and Turkish parts providers are cut off from the supply chain, the head of the joint program office told lawmakers on Thursday.
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There are seven companies inside Turkey that produce parts, which combined equal about 6-7 percent of the total F-35 supply chain, Winter said.
“Right now there’s no disruption to the supply chain from any partners,” but if Turkey is cut off from the program, that would interrupt the flow of parts, not only to the Fort Worth line, but also production facilities in Italy and Japan, Winter said. There would be an impact within 45-90 days of slowing down the delivery of parts, potentially causing a delay that would impact 50-75 airplanes over a two-year time period, he added.

L'intero articolo ... airforcemag.com ... "Parts Delays Impacting F-35 Production, Turkey Situation Likely to Make it Worse" ...
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Ancora sulla Turchia ... mossa bipartisan da parte di alcuni potenti senatori USA ...

... nytimes.com ... "A U.S. Fighter Jet or a Russian Missile System. Not Both" ...

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Un F-35A giapponese è scomparso durante un'esercitazione notturna ... le ricerche sono in corso ...

... flightglobal.com ... https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... in-457348/ ...

... japantimes.co.jp ... https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/ ... Kzs6-gzaM8 ...

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JSF ... il programma avrà un nuovo capo ...

President Donald Trump nominated US Air Force Major General Eric Fick for appointment to the rank of lieutenant general and assignment as director of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme.
Fick currently serves as deputy executive officer for the programme (*), which is based in Arlington, Virginia.
He will replace US Navy Vice Admiral Mathias Winter, who has served as the programme’s director since May 2017.
The Department of Defense (DoD) did not say when Fick would take over.

Fonte: flightglobal.com ... "Lockheed F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme to get new director" ...

(*) ... http://www.jsf.mil/leadership/lead_fick.htm ...
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Turchia, F-35 & S-400 ... parla Pompeo ...

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told lawmakers Tuesday that if NATO ally Turkey acquires the Russian S-400 air defense system, it will not receive the F-35 fighter jet, and he left the door open for sanctions.
“I have communicated that to them both privately, and I will do so again right here,” Pompeo told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
When Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., pressed Pompeo on whether the $2.5 billion sale would meet the “significant transaction” threshold to trigger the 2017 Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, Pompeo suggested the answer was “yes” but stopped short.
“If I can avoid making a legal conclusion, that’s a very significant transaction,” Pompeo said.

L'articolo: defensenews.com ..... "Pompeo: With S-400, Turkey won’t get F-35, may get sanctions" ...
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Trovati e recuperati alcuni rottami del velivolo giapponese scomparso ... le ricerche del pilota continuano ...

Search and rescue crews on Wednesday found debris from a Japanese Air Self Defense Force F-35 that went missing during a Tuesday training flight out of Misawa AB, Japan, as USAF and US Navy aircraft joined the search for the pilot and aircraft.
The F-35 was part of a four-ship training flight that took off from Misawa Tuesday evening.
The aircraft went missing from radar about 28 minutes after taking off, approximately 84 miles east of the base.
A spokesman for JASDF told Reuters the Japanese military found some wreckage and positively identified it as part of an F-35.
The rest of the aircraft and the pilot were still missing as of Wednesday evening.

L'articolo: airforcemag.com ... "Debris from Missing Japanese F-35 Found, Pilot Still Missing" ...
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Il secondo F-35B è stato assegnato alla Marina Militare ...

RID ... http://www.portaledifesa.it/index~phppag,3_id,2978.html ...

[Valerio Ricciardi]

Trovati e recuperati alcuni rottami del velivolo giapponese scomparso ...

E' da giurare che non lasceranno nulla di intentato per recuperar quanto possibile dell'aereo, sopratutto onde evitare che possano essere preceduti.

[richelieu]

Trovati e recuperati alcuni rottami del velivolo giapponese scomparso ...

E' da giurare che non lasceranno nulla di intentato per recuperar quanto possibile dell'aereo, sopratutto onde evitare che possano essere preceduti.

Chissà da chi ...

[richelieu]

Destinazione ... Medio Oriente ...

Air Force F-35As deployed to the Middle East for the first time on Monday, arriving in the United Arab Emirates for combat operations across the region.
An undisclosed number of F-35s, assigned to the Active Duty 388th and Reserve 419th Fighter Wings at Hill AFB, Utah, are operating from Al Dhafra Air Base, the same location that recently hosted F-22s.

Fonte: airforcemag.com ... "USAF F-35s Deploy to the Middle East for the First Time" ...

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A proposito del velivolo giapponese precipitato in mare ... una notizia fin troppo ovvia ...

... nhk.or.jp ..... "Defense Ministry plans to pull up crashed F35" ...

Ma ... vi pare sia cosa saggia lasciarlo sul fondo del mare affinché, primo o poi, lo possano recuperare i Cinesi o i Russi ?

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Ancora a proposito del velivolo giapponese precipitato in mare ... prevale la politica delle bocche cucite ...

... flightglobal.com ... "No word on missing Japanese F-35A" ...