Sponsored by Lincad
————————————————————————-
28 Feb 19. F-35C Achieves Initial Operational Capability. The Commander, Naval Air Forces and the U.S. Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Aviation jointly announced that the aircraft carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35C Lightning II, met all requirements and achieved Initial Operational Capability (IOC).
The Feb. 28 announcement comes shortly after the Department of the Navy’s first F-35C squadron, Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147, completed aircraft carrier qualifications aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) and received Safe-For-Flight Operations Certification.
In order to declare IOC, the first operational squadron must be properly manned, trained and equipped to conduct assigned missions in support of fleet operations. This includes having 10 Block 3F, F-35C aircraft, requisite spare parts, support equipment, tools, technical publications, training programs and a functional Autonomic Logistic Information System (ALIS).
Additionally, the ship that supports the first squadron must possess the proper infrastructure, qualifications and certifications. Lastly, the Joint Program Office, industry, and Naval Aviation must demonstrate that all procedures, processes and policies are in place to sustain operations.
“The F-35C is ready for operations, ready for combat and ready to win,” said Commander Naval Air Forces, Vice Admiral DeWolfe Miller. “We are adding an incredible weapon system into the arsenal of our Carrier Strike Groups that significantly enhances the capability of the joint force.”
Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore is the home-base for the Navy’s Joint Strike Fighter Wing, Navy F-35C fleet squadrons and the Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS), VFA-125 that trains Navy and Marine Corps CVN-based Joint Strike Fighter pilots. To accommodate the F-35C program at NAS Lemoore, several facilities were built or remodeled to facilitate specific F-35C requirements with regard to maintenance and training, including a Pilot Fit Facility, Centralized Engine Repair Facility, Pilot Training Center and a newly-remodeled hangar. Future projects are planned as additional Navy squadrons transition into the F-35C. The Marine Corps plans to transition four F-35C squadrons that will be assigned to Carrier Air Wings for deployments.
“We’re very proud of what our Sailors have accomplished in the Joint Strike Fighter community,” said CAPT Max McCoy, commodore of the U.S. Navy’s Joint Strike Fighter Wing. “Their commitment to mission delivered fifth generation capability to the carrier air wing, making us more combat effective than ever before. We will continue to learn and improve ways to maintain and sustain F-35C as we prepare for first deployment. The addition of F-35C to existing Carrier Air Wing capability ensures that we can fight and win in contested battlespace now and well into the future.”
Meanwhile, Rear Admiral Dale Horan, director, USN F-35C Fleet Integration Office said, “The F-35C will revolutionize capability and operating concepts of aircraft carrier-based naval aviation using advanced technologies to find, fix and assess threats and, if necessary, track, target and engage them in all contested environments,” adding “This accomplishment represents years of hard work on the part of the F-35 Joint Program Office and Naval Aviation Enterprise. Our focus has now shifted to applying lessons learned from this process to future squadron transitions, and preparing VFA-147 for their first overseas deployment.”
The mission-ready F-35C is the latest addition to U.S. Navy’s Carrier Air Wing. With its stealth technology, state-of-the-art avionics, advanced sensors, weapons capacity and range, the aircraft carrier-based F-35C provides unprecedented air superiority, interdiction, suppression of enemy air defenses and close-air-support as well as advanced command and control functions through fused sensors. These state-of-the art capabilities provide pilots and combatant commanders unrivaled battlespace awareness and lethality. The F-35C is the final U.S. Joint Strike Fighter variant to declare IOC and follows the USAF’s F-35A and USMC’s F-35B. IOC declaration is a significant milestone. (Source: US Navy)
26 Feb 19. Here’s how the US Army used a ‘Shark Tank’ approach to shift $31bn in the budget. In a process reminiscent of what you might see on the TV show “Shark Tank,” U.S. Army leaders have been able to shift more than $31bn in the Army’s budget to its top priorities, according to Under Secretary Ryan McCarthy. The official shed light on the budget deliberations during a Feb. 26 breakfast sponsored by the Association of the U.S. Army’s Institute of Land Warfare.
“You went in there and tried to explain your program to the leadership, and if it didn’t survive contact, it was out,” McCarthy told the crowd, adding that he co-led a panel of Army senior leaders — alongside Army Secretary Mark Esper, Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville — as part of a “principals only” series of discussions to reform the Army’s budget.
“We invested about just north of 60 hours for the entire senior leadership team,” he said, noting that the team ran through every program in the budget.
So what did that process get the Army? McCarthy called it a radical transformation, saying it found more than $31bn to realign with the service’s six top priorities, which are long-range precision fires, future vertical lift, next-generation combat vehicles, air and missile defense, the network, and soldier lethality.
Of that $31bn, McCarthy told reporters more than $8bn shifted will mean cuts to the costs of existing programs over the next five years, while the remaining $22bn shifted means cuts to some programs and the termination of others. But because the fiscal 2020 defense budget has yet to be released, he wouldn’t comment on what specific programs were cut. He did note the budget rollout is set for March 12, after having been pushed back from early February.
“All six of the Army priorities will have vast increases. And you’ll see a sustained push. We made hard choices inside of our budget,” McCarthy said. “We wanted to do that so we can protect them in the out years if it’s a flat fiscal environment.”
He also told reporters that the service is communicating with industry about budgetary changes, adding that working with industry is better than “blindsiding” companies. “You work with companies, and they’ll adjust. But it’s when you blindside them on a budget drop day, that’s very different,” he said.
The undersecretary also acknowledged the need to explain its decisions to Congress, and that the service is prepared for pushback from lawmakers.
“If a company in your particular state or district is impacted, there’s also immense opportunity that will present itself as we proceed on the future year defense plan,” he said.
But the process described by McCarthy isn’t unique. As the Army works through the FY21 budget request, Assistant Secretary of the Army Bruce Jette and Army Futures Command leader Gen. Mike Murray will lead a similar process — a more “sophisticated” one, according to McCarthy.
“It’s a way to institutionalize this behavior,” he said. “They’re trying to change the fundamental behavior of the Army to do better with every dollar we spend.” (Source: Defense News)
26 Feb 19. US nuclear general worries over Russia’s weapons outside New START. The U.S. general who oversees America’s nuclear forces expressed concern Tuesday that Russia is developing new strategic weapons outside of the New START Treaty, which is set to expire in 2021.
The comments by Air Force Gen. John Hyten come in the wake of the United States’ and Russia’s withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, freeing Moscow to develop and deploy new missiles, and fueling fears the 2010 New START Treaty may be next to lapse, with nothing to replace it.
In testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee, the head of U.S. Strategic Command said Russia is developing a nuclear-armed, nuclear-powered underwater unmanned vehicle, an intercontinental-range cruise missile, and a hypersonic nuclear weapon, which Moscow wants to keep out of existing arms agreements.
Such weapons could pose a threat in the near future if the U.S. does not counter them, Hyten warned.
“I get concerned 10 years and beyond that with torpedoes, with cruise missiles, with hypersonic, that it can go completely in the other direction, that we would have a difficulty,” Hyten said. “I have no problem saying I can defend the nation today, and I think the commander after me can, but I worry about the commander after the commander after the commander.”
Hyten said he wants to expand New START, emphasizing the value of its verification process and its limits on Russia’s strategic force. The treaty lets the U.S. inspect and gain insight into the real capability of Russia’s strategic arsenal — and vice versa.
Yet, in an exchange with Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren — a 2020 presidential contender and proponent of nuclear restraint — Hyten seemed to leave an opening to justify New START’s termination.
“I’ve stated for the record in the part — and I haven’t changed my opinion — that I support New START, but you have to have a partner who wants to participate,” he said, likening it to the INF Treaty.
“If Russians continue to build capabilities outside the New START Treaty that aren’t accountable, under the table — under the treaty, if there is a new strategic arm that appears, they should take that to the table to discuss it,” he said. “If they won’t do that, that’s part of what we have concerns about.”
The INF Treaty prohibits the U.S. and Russia from fielding ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 kilometers and 5,500 kilometers, but the U.S. asserts Russia’s new 9M729 cruise missile fits that category. The U.S. quit the treaty in October, and Russia has since followed suit.
On Sunday, Russian state television reportedly listed U.S. military facilities that Moscow would target in the event of a nuclear strike, and said that a hypersonic missile Russia is developing will be able to hit them in less than five minutes.
In questioning Hyten, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and other Republican proponents of America’s nuclear arsenal, were clearly building a record ahead of a debate over the cost of nuclear modernization and America’s nuclear triad.
The issue is a likely friction point in the upcoming bicameral debate over the annual defense policy bill, as House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., has called for a reset of the Trump administration’s plans for America’s nuclear arsenal.
Smith has called the Pentagon’s plan to recapitalize the three legs of the triad — by buying the Columbia-class submarine, new intercontinental ballistic missiles and the B-21 bomber — “way beyond what we can afford.”
In 2017, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the Pentagon will spend more than $1trn over the next 30 years to buy new nuclear weapons or sustain what it has.
Amid questions from Strategic Forces Subcommittee Chairman Deb Fischer, R-Neb., Hyten affirmed that while Russia and China modernize their nuclear triads, a unilateral cut by America “would significantly reduce our deterrent.”
“I look at our nuclear capabilities, our triad and our modernization program as the minimal essential capabilities required to defend this nation,” Hyten said. “Because we have to defend against the most existential threat, and Russia and China — and their capabilities are the most existential threat. So to me, that’s the most minimum essential capabilities that we have to build. And even at the highest rate, it’ll still be roughly 6 percent of the overall defense budget. I think we can afford that security.”
Hyten also warned that Russia is improving its ability to attack anywhere in the globe with little or no notice through its pursuit of nuclear-armed hypersonic missiles and nuclear-capable cruise missiles, when coupled with the newest intercontinental-range ballistic missiles.
Hyten noted the U.S. can conduct its own research into hypersonic weapons without violating the INF Treaty, which covers ballistic missiles. He also repeated calls for a space-based sensor to defend against them. Existing U.S. sensors can detect and locate a ballistic or hypersonic missile at launch.
One difference is the hypersonic missile “disappears and we don’t see it until the effect is delivered,” Hyten said. With a ballistic missile, it would take 30 minutes to strike a target, but a with a hypersonic weapon, Hyten said, “it could be half of that.” (Source: Defense News)
27 Feb 19. Lockheed expects F-35 flying costs will take time to come down: executive. Lockheed Martin Corp expects it will take around 15 to 20 years to bring the cost per flight hour of the F-35 below fourth-generation fighter jets such as the F-16, the head of the F-35 program said on Wednesday. The U.S. Air Force, the largest global customer for the F-35, has launched a push to drive down the cost of flying and servicing F-35s to the same levels as current fighters without stealth capabilities.
Lockheed Martin Vice President and General Manager F-35 Program Greg Ulmer said there was an effort to lower the cost per flight hour to $25,000 by 2025 but further savings would take longer.
“Today it is different customer by customer but I think $35,000 per flying hour is a good number,” he told Reuters in an interview at the Australian International Airshow.
“If we project that out based on the initiatives we have in place, we believe as we move out to the 2035-2040 timeframe we can get that cost down to under what a fourth gen is today,” in the range of $20,000-25,000 per flight hour.
Initiatives involved in lowering the cost to $25,000 an hour include reducing the number of mechanics needed to support each plane, Ulmer said.
Lockheed is also looking to refine diagnostic systems to reduce false alarms as well as to ensure there are proper spare parts available for maintenance and repairs.
Lockheed Martin Vice President and General Manager Training and Logistics Services Amy Gowder said the United States had been late to install enough capacity for F-35 repairs due to delays in funding approvals.
“The U.S. has been very slow to fund that in the depots specifically like Hill Air Force Base,” she said. “They should have started those projects a few years ago.”
That was becoming increasingly problematic as more planes were added to the fleet, Gowder said.
“When you have 180 aircraft it is probably okay. Now we have 300. It is the scale of the volume increases which is why there is a concern,” she said.
“That is putting more pressure on the supply chain in the near term.”
The U.S. Air Force did not respond immediately to a request for comment outside usual business hours.
Operating costs were a big issue when military officials from the United States, Israel and F-35 user nations in Europe – Britain, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Turkey, the Netherlands – met in Germany in September last year.
Experts say the U.S. Air Force could cut back its planned purchases of the aircraft unless it can lower the flying costs. (Source: Reuters)
————————————————————————-
About Lincad
Lincad is a leading expert in the design and manufacture of batteries, chargers and associated products for a range of applications across a number of different sectors. With a heritage spanning more than three decades in the defence and security sectors, Lincad has particular expertise in the development of reliable, ruggedised products with high environmental, thermal and electromagnetic performance. With a dedicated team of engineers and production staff, all product is designed and manufactured in-house at Lincad’s facility in Ash Vale, Surrey. Lincad is ISO 9001 and TickITplus accredited and works closely with its customers to satisfy their power management requirements.
Lincad is also a member of the Joint Supply Chain Accreditation Register (JOSCAR), the accreditation system for the aerospace, defence and security sectors, and is certified with Cyber Essentials, the government-backed, industry supported scheme to help organisations protect themselves against common cyber attacks. The majority of Lincad’s products contain high energy density lithium-ion technology, but the most suitable technology for each customer requirement is employed, based on Lincad’s extensive knowledge of available electrochemistries. Lincad offers full life cycle product support services that include repairs and upgrades from point of introduction into service, through to disposal at the end of a product’s life. From product inception, through to delivery and in-service product support, Lincad offers the high quality service that customers expect from a recognised British supplier.
————————————————————————-