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04/26/2015: The first-ever Australian F-35 pilot recently completed his last training flight, marking the end of his flight training at the Academic Training Center on Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
Royal Australian Air Force Squadron Leader Andrew Jackson, F-35 Lightning II student pilot, completes his final training mission after landing on Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., April 23, 2015.
Jackson made history as the first Australian pilot to fly in the F-35A.
USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109), right, and the Romanian corvette ROS Sebastian (F 264) operate together during a passing exercise in the Black Sea April 5, 2015.
Jason Dunham, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer homeported in Norfolk, is conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe.
2015-04-11 According to a story on the Norwegian Ministry of Defence website published on 4/8/15:
In 2015 one of Europe’s largest fighter jet exercise is to take place in the Nordic countries, with Norway as lead nation.
Norwegian F16s taxiing for take off. Credit: Norwegian MOD.
Norway is lead nation as nearly a hundred fighter jets from nine nations gather for a joint training exercise from 25 May to 5 June.
Arctic Challenge Exercise 2015 (ACE 2015) evolved from a Swedish exercise, Nordic Air Meet, and cross border training between the Nordic neighbours Sweden and Finland, back in 2009. The training exercise will take place in the High North, with the activity being divided between Bodø in Norway, Rovaniemi in Finland, and Kallax in Sweden.
“This is the second time the multinational training exercise is carried out, the first being in 2013. The plan forward is to continue every other year. Even though Norway, Sweden and Finland are the host nations, all of the participating countries contribute to the planning, which helps build our national and allied capability to lead air operations,” says Brigadier Jan Ove Rygg, head of RNoAF’s National Air Operations Center (NAOC), and ACE 2015 exercise director.
“The aim is to exercise and train units in the orchestration and conduct of complex air operations, in close relations to NATO and Protection for Peace partners. The unique cross border air space makes ACE 2015 a one of a kind training ground for increasing interoperability and skills in all parts of the chain.”
Colorful Jet Stream
“We are getting great operational take-backs with such large scenarios and tactical training,” says Major Trond Ertsgaard at Bodø Main Air Station.
Together with neighbors, allies and NAOC, he is now fully focused on planning the substantial exercise.
In addition to the well-known F-16, Nordic air space will be filled with F-18, Hawk T1, Tornado GR4, Mirage 2000, Eurofighter Typhoon, and Jas 39 Gripen, among others. Furthermore, a number of NATO AWACS jets, transportation jets and tankers, and DA-20 Jet Falcons will all have supporting roles.
Large Operational Areas
The exercise consists of a wide range of scenario drills and cooperation between the three host bases, with large operational areas available both in Norway and surrounding the other main bases.
“There is going to be two flight periods per day. The first one will focus on training with units stationed at the same base, with flights taking place in the surrounding air space,” Ertsgaard explains.
This includes everything from weapon delivery, both against grounded and airborne targets, and combating simulated anti-air artillery, to low-level flying and mid-air refueling.
“The second period comprises of composite air operations where all aircrafts meet, mainly in Swedish air space, for a vast setup.”
04/05/2015: U.S. Air Force Airmen from the 44th Aircraft Maintenance Unit prepare an F-15C Eagle for a training surge on Kadena Air Base, Japan, Jan. 15, 2015.
The 44th Fighter Squadron usually conducts training surges three to four times a year.
When executed properly, it has a positive effect on unit pride and displays how effective Air Force maintenance practices are.
In the second photo, a U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagle from the 44th Fighter Squadron prepares to land during a training surge on Kadena Air Base, Japan, Jan. 15, 2015. The 44th Fighter Squadron produced 250 sorties in four days and the highest single day surge was 75 sorties. The 44th Aircraft Maintenance Unit conducted the surge from Jan. 12 through 15 and broke the 18th Wing’s surge record twice in four months.
In the third photo A U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagle from the 44th Fighter Squadron on Kadena Air Base, Japan, takes to the sky during a training surge, Jan. 15, 2015. A surge is a scheduled event where a unit generates a higher number of sorties than usual. The surge allows the unit to get ahead of flying goals and tests their maximum sortie production capability.
In the fourth photo Two U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles prepare to take off during a training surge on Kadena Air Base, Japan, Jan. 15, 2015.
In the fifth photo A U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagle from the 44th Fighter Squadron flies over Kadena Air Base, Japan, during a training surge, Jan. 15, 2015. Normally, the unit flies about 70 sorties in four days but during a surge, the unit will fly roughly 70 or more sorties in one day.
In the final photo U.S. Air Force Airmen from 44th Aircraft Maintenance Unit refuel an F-15C Eagle during a training surge on Kadena Air Base, Japan, Jan. 15, 2015.
03/25/2015: USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) March 18, 2015.
Theodore Roosevelt deployed from Norfolk and will execute a homeport shift to San Diego at the conclusion of deployment.
Theodore Roosevelt is seen conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe and prior to its reaching Portsmouth, England.
And an article in The Daily Mail described the arrival of the USS Theodore Roosevelt of a Portsmouth on March 25. 2015 as follows:
She weighs in at an impressive 100,000 tons and is longer than The Shard is tall.
And today the mammoth USS Theodore Roosevelt was anchored just off the coast of Hampshire because she was simply ‘too big’ to sail into the Royal Navy’s historic Portsmouth dockyard.
Thousands of stunned spectators jammed roads and lined the banks of the River Solent to welcome the 1,092ft-long floating city as it arrived for a five-day visit to the UK on the first stop of a global deployment.
While a debate rages in the UK over the Government’s failure to commit to the Nato target of spending two per cent of GPD on defense, the Roosevelt is a potent symbol of American military might.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt was accompanied into Hampshire by its escort ship, the destroyer Winston S Churchill, which traditionally has a UK navigator on board to honour the ship’s British connection and the post is currently being held by 27-year-old Lieutenant Lynsey Sewell. Credit: The Daily Mail
With 90 aircraft on board, the ship can operate for up to 25 years at over unlimited distances, projecting US air power around the globe.
She can go three months without resupply and her two giant nuclear reactor generate enough power for a small city.
One social media user wrote: ‘Most ships get measures in metres, this one comes in acres!’
Another joked in reference to recent increased tensions between the West and Russia: ‘Wonder if any Russian bombers will fly up the Channel this week?’
Brian and Jacqui Rodgers, who travelled from Dorset to see the 30-year-old carrier arrive at Stokes Bay, said they were ‘very impressed’ by the ship.
Mr Rodgers told The News local paper: ‘It’s a slumbering giant. I guess it’s one of the biggest carriers in the world.
It’s a bit like watching a floating town arrive off the coast.’
Mrs Rodgers added: ‘It’s massive. When you see a sailing boat by go by the side of it you realize how huge it is.’
Various shots of F-18s, including the Growler variant as well as of the Hawkeye are shown of the USS TR at sea.
2015-03-22 This video includes several shots of the operation of the F-35C as well as the F-35B operating off of the Nimitz and the WASP.
The ability to operate from the sea provides a significant capability to enhance the overall effects from combined land and sea airpower.
The video has been provided by the Naval Air Systems Command.
Elliott Clemence is a Test Pilot for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics’ F-35 Lightning II Program at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Md. In this role he supports F-35B flight sciences testing, F-35C carrier suitability testing and helmet mounted display testing.
Over the course of his 19-year career as a pilot, Elliott has accrued over 3,000 flight hours in dozens of aircraft including the F-35, the FA-18, the F-16, the AV-8B, the C-12, the T-2C, the T-45, the T-38, and the T-34.
Prior to joining Lockheed Martin in 2011, Elliott served as an FA-18 E/F/G experimental test pilot with the Boeing Company in St. Louis, MO, from 2009-2011 where he supported testing for mission systems, Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar upgrades, and large area display integration.
In the United States Navy, Mr. Clemence held various positions including: FA-18C Hornet Pilot with VFA-86 in Beaufort, SC, FA-18 E/F Super Hornet Test Pilot at NAS Patuxent River, Md., and FA-18C Squadron Department Head with VFA-136 in Virginia Beach, Va. Elliott continues to serve in the U.S. Navy Reserves as the Commanding Officer of the VFA-101 Squadron Augmentation Unit (SAU).
A decorated combat veteran, Elliott was deployed in Operation Southern Watch (OSW), Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and twice in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). During OIF and OEF, he expended 29 munitions in 86 combat sorties.
Mr. Clemence holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Master of Science from the University of Tennessee Space Institute and is a graduate of the Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Md. He and his wife Lisa live in Hollywood, MD, with their two children, James and Lorina
For our special report on Naval Aviation see the following:
During my first visit to the Final Assembly Line of the F-35 since 2012, I was able to visit the line and see a number of changes.
I also had a number of interviews which provided updates as well.
The first interview with Dr. Mike Skaff, the chief engineer for the Pilot Interface Integration or for non-acronym lovers, the man responsible for leading efforts to provide better ways for information to be presented to F-35 pilots, a capability which current F-35 pilots have been very enthusiastic about.
A second interview was with Dr. Donald Kinard, the well-known F-35 manufacturing specialist, who discussed the evolution of the manufacturing process and its maturation.
This was an update from my last interview with him in 2012.
A third interview was with the head of Naval programs at Fort Worth, the former CO of the USS Harry Truman, Jim Gigliotti.
The focus there was upon the cross-cutting processes of US Navy fleet innovations with the coming of the F-35C.
The first production F-35 leaves the Cameri FACO, March 2015.
The final interview was with Steve Over, the head of international Business Development for the F-35.
In this interview, Over provides an overview (sorry for the pun) on the F-35 program circa 2015.
My initial take on what I saw and heard in Fort Worth was encapsulated in an earlier article:
I had not visited the Final Assembly Line or FAL in Fort Worth since late 2012.
Much has changed as the line has matured, and a line stood up in Cameri, Italy and one being built in Japan.
The first Italian FACO F-35 rollout will happen soon in Italy.
A key aspect of the program is the joint buys of the US services and the partners in common contracts with Foreign Military Sales customers like Israel, Japan and South Korea purchasing via the FMS route.
The F-35′s nine partner countries are Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Nearly 50% of F-35s to be delivered in the next five years are for international customers.
Currently, F-35s are flying on nine operating bases with 130 airplanes flying and the fleet as surpassed 29,000 flight hours.
There are 88 jets under construction at the Fort Worth plant, and one can see already on the line jets being built which will surpass the numbers of F-22s which were built.
A single line is building three different variants of the aircraft – the F-35A, the F-35B and the F-35C – and can accommodate configuration differences for the allies, such as the chute for the Norwegian F-35A, which is being built to deal with icy runways.
The discussion with Over provided a number of additional details and elements for understanding the state of play for the program as of February 2015.
The first point was with regard to the planes under contract and anticipated to be under contract by the Fall of 2015.
We are starting to deliver LRIP-7 airplanes and are fully under contract for LRIP-8 airplanes.
We are under contract for long lead airplanes for LRIP-9 and we have submitted a proposal to the US Government for both LRIP-9 and LRIP-10 and their intention is to negotiate both contracts simultaneously.
It is anticipated that those contracts will be concluded in the Fall of 2015.
The buying process for F-35s is unique in many respects.
The partners and the US services buy in common.
The Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers have separate contracts, which are concluded separately, and then the FMS aircraft folded into the single production run process.
The partners actually join in and procure their aircraft along with the US government through the Joint Program Office.
The JPO then takes those along with FMS buys and authorize aircraft within individual LRIPs.
In effect, the partners and the services are integrated into a single buying process.
Clearly, the F-35 enterprise is focused on U.S. Services IOC’s which start with USMC in July 2015, the USAF in 2016 and USN in 2018.
The Marines have the software, which they will go to IOC with currently, and will finish testing this year, including tests this spring on the USS Wasp.
By the end of last week, the USMC has 12 test points remaining and one additional weapons accuracy test to complete before finishing testing for IOC.
Early increment 3i software, which is loaded into a new generation of mission computer, is being tested now as well.
USN testing is continuing with the next carrier based testing to occur in the Fall aboard the USS Eisenhower.
During the recent USS Nimitz testing, the F-35C began its night operations testing, and this will continue along with weapons loading (inert) and other tests relevant to the work flow aboard a carrier.
And looking at numbers of aircraft, according to Over:
“We’re under firm contract, through LRIP-8 for over 230 airplanes.”
The projection is for more than 400 airplanes deployed by 2018.
And more than 600 deployed by 2020.
Not surprisingly, the price point of the airplane is coming down as the manufacturing line is maturing; the supply chain is ramping up and maturing, and the numbers increasing.
The price point according to Lockheed Martin is well on the way to reaching DoD’s estimate of $85 million for an F-35A ordered in 2019.
It will continue come down as a number of process improvements and new manufacturing technologies introduced into the supply chain and the final assembly line.
I would put it in the words of the PEO, Lieutenant General Chris Bogdan.
When he says, ‘in the 2019 timeframe we’re going to have a fifth generation airplane that’s less than or equal to the price of a fourth gen airplane,’ this is why he can make that statement with confidence.
When you look at that cost curve about 20 percent of that cost reduction comes just from learning how to build the airplane more efficiently.
Airplane after airplane after airplane will now come off of the line.
About 80 percent of that learning curve effect comes from the economic order quantity.
And of course, you can see that between LRIPs 4 and LRIP-7, the production quantities were held very flat and very constant.
So we were able to achieve this reduction of the learning curve just through learning efficiencies.
Beyond the standard manufacturing learning curve affects, Lockheed, along with their industrial partners Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems, partnered with the U.S. Government and introduced “Blueprint for Affordability.”
The focus is to deliver an F-35 that’s less than $80 million in 2019.
By investing shareholder’s money in improvements up front, this will drive down costs further as it is rooted in process improvements and introductions of new production technologies, in both the supply chain and on the final assembly line.
These improvements aren’t going to increase the operational capability; these are going to make the airplane cheaper to build.
We’re investing $170 million over the next two years, this year and next year, in these modifications that will make the jet more easily produced.
It actually will occur at all stages in the supply chain.
It’s not just here in our facility.
It’s not at just in Northrop Grumman and BAE’s facility; we’re investing in projects that are even lower in the supply chain that will increase their ability to produce parts that are equivalent in quality but cheaper.
The five-year investment is designed to shave $10 million off the airplane by 2019, resulting in less than an $80 million jet. 131 production ideas so far have been submitted, 58 have been approved with $49 million investment.
Already, we can directly tie $260,000 per jet lower price associated with the LRIP-8 jets.
And when you look at how this compounds year over year, through LRIP-11 we project a $2 million reduction in the price of the basic jet.
The briefing illustrates the points made above and provides highlights for the program in 2014 as well as projected achievements in 2015.
Visiting the FAL in Fort Worth highlights the process of moving planes from one end of the assembly line to the other over a year and a half.
The planes move on average every five days, and the process of building aircraft is clearly accelerating.
The result will be seen in the numbers of deployed aircraft in the period ahead, more than 600 by 2020.
In the second photo, the numbers of aircraft – more than 400 – deployed in various global locations by 2018 is portrayed.
During my visit, I saw several partner airplanes on the line including British, Norwegian and Italians, and there may have been more but that is what I saw while visiting the FAL.
And the numbers are clearly ramping up for all three models, and note BF-51 which is the 51st STOVL jet, as I was touring the line.
The remaining photos provide various views of the line and aircraft in various phases of production.
The photos towards the end of the slide show highlight planes at the end of the production line or in the paint shop.
The photos were shot by Angel DelCueto, Lockheed Martin photographer, on February 20, 2015 and were subsequently cleared by the Joint Program Office.
And see the recent story by Steve Trimble of Flight International about his recent visit to the FAL as well:
As Trimble put it in his article published on January 22, 2015:
Mass manufacturing and stealth aircraft have never mixed well. Hundreds of thousands of parts must align at tolerances measured to the thousandths of an inch. A structural misalignment no wider than a few human hairs is enough to make an aircraft shine like a lighthouse in the electromagnetic spectrum.
In the elite club of stealth aircraft manufacturers, Lockheed Martin set the output record six years ago by averaging two F-22 Raptor deliveries per month, then topped that four years later as the F-35 Lightning II production rate reached three per month.
If Lockheed’s order projections are realized, however, the F-35 must become the stealth fighter equivalent of the Ford Model T in less than four years.
That is when monthly output at Lockheed’s mile-long factory in Fort Worth, Texas, is supposed to reach a peak of 17 F-35s in 2019.
Lockheed has built non-stealthy fighters faster in the past – the same factory built 33 F-16s in October 1981 – but the four-year goal for monthly F-35 deliveries is nearly seven times higher than any stealth aircraft program has ever achieved.
