DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: F-35 Jump Jet Gears Up For Crucial At-Sea Tests

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: F-35 Jump Jet Gears Up For Crucial At-Sea Tests

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources By Lance M. Bacon, Staff writer - NavyTimes
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 23, 2015: The blue-green team is gearing up for operational tests that could build momentum for the embattled F-35B Lightning II — or add more fuel to the fire of outspoken critics.

The first shipboard operational test period for the Marine Corps' short take off and vertical landing version of the Joint Strike Fighter is scheduled to take place May 18-30 aboard the amphibious assault ship Wasp. Six of the jets will participate, four out of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, and two from MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina.

Evaluators will assess the stealth jet's integration and operation within the full spectrum of flight and maintenance operations, as well as supply chain support while embarked at sea, said Maj. Paul Greenberg, Marine Corps spokesman. Lessons learned will "lay the groundwork" for future deployments, he said. The aims of the at-sea tests include:

*Assess day and night take-offs and landings, weapons loads, and extended range operations.
*Assess aircraft-to-ship network communications.
*Evaluate the landing signal officer's launch and recovery software.
*Test the crew's ability to conduct scheduled and unscheduled maintenance.
*Determine the suitability of maintenance support equipment for shipboard operations.
*Assess the logistics footprint of a deployed, six-plane F-35B detachment.

The F-35B remains the centerpiece of Marine fixed-wing modernization because "it supports our doctrinal form of maneuver warfare and our operational need for close air support in austere conditions and locations potentially inaccessible for traditional fighters," Greenberg told Navy Times on March 17."The Lightning II will provide effective close-air support to our Marines and sailors when they need it the most."

Twenty-one alterations were required to equip the Wasp for regular operation of the F-35B aircraft, according to Matt Leonard, spokesman for Naval Sea Systems Command. Each alteration will be made on all L-class ships during planned availabilities and in line on newly constructed ships in advance of the F-35B's arrival.

Among the biggest challenges has been the downward force and heat of the F-35B's engines as it lands, which has burned the nonskid deck. A new highly tolerant, temperature resistant thermal spray coating was applied and has been successfully evaluated aboard Wasp during F-35B, V-22, AV-8B and other helicopter flight operations, Leonard said.

The Wasp also underwent seven "cornerstone" alterations that provide necessary electrical servicing upgrades, expand weapons handling and storage, provide for the F-35B Autonomic Logistics Information System, secure access facilities, and relocate the flight deck tramline for flight safety.

The Wasp is the test ship for the F-35B and has not made a major deployment in over a decade.

While the Air Force's decision to replace the venerable A-10 with its F-35A variant has nabbed headlines, some analysts and lawmakers remain critical of the Corps' next-generation jump jet for three reasons. It has the shortest range and smallest payload of any F-35, its capabilities are reduced and it's the most expensive. An Air Force F-35A airframe and engine runs $77.7 million, as compared to $105.5 million for the F-35B, and $89.7 million for the F-35C, according to an April 2014 Congressional Research Service report. The Marine Corps also plans to buy the carrier-based F-35C.

Supporters point out that few (if any) potential adversaries can beat the fifth-generation fighter, and this design amounts to a leap ahead for reconnaissance, electronic warfare and close-air support missions

"This actually doesn't just replace the F/A-18, the AV-8 or the EA-6. It's a fundamentally different capability," Marine Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford said in March 10 testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. "It's a transformational capability. It'll do everything that those three aircraft will do, but also, in terms of the information environment, it'll do a significant amount more for the Marine air-ground task force."

Initial operating capability for the F-35B is scheduled for July.

*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources By Lance M. Bacon, Staff writer - NavyTimes
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*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. Waived Laws To Keep F-35 on Track With China-Made Parts

Asia News Report: DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. Waived Laws To Keep F-35 on Track With China-Made Parts

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Reuters
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 4, 2014: The Pentagon repeatedly waived laws banning Chinese-built components on U.S. weapons in order to keep the $392 billion Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter program on track in 2012 and 2013, even as U.S. officials were voicing concern about China's espionage and military buildup.

According to Pentagon documents reviewed by Reuters, chief U.S. arms buyer Frank Kendall allowed two F-35 suppliers, Northrop Grumman Corp and Honeywell International Inc, to use Chinese magnets for the new warplane's radar system, landing gears and other hardware. Without the waivers, both companies could have faced sanctions for violating federal law and the F-35 program could have faced further delays.

"It was a pretty big deal and an unusual situation because there's a prohibition on doing defense work in China, even if it's inadvertent," said Frank Kenlon, who recently retired as a senior Pentagon procurement official and now teaches at American University. "I'd never seen this happen before."

The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, is examining three such cases involving the F-35, the U.S. military's next generation fighter, the documents show.

The GAO report, due March 1, was ordered by U.S. lawmakers, who say they are concerned that Americans firms are being shut out of the specialty metals market, and that a U.S. weapon system may become dependent on parts made by a potential future adversary.

The waivers apply to inexpensive parts, including $2 magnets, installed on 115 F-35 test, training and production aircraft, the last of which are due to be delivered in May 2014. Lawmakers noted that several U.S. companies make similar magnets.

Kendall said the waivers were needed to keep production, testing and training of the Pentagon's newest warplane on track; avert millions of dollars in retrofit costs; and prevent delays in the Marine Corps' plan to start using the jets in combat from mid-2015, according to the documents. In one case, it would cost $10.8 million and take about 25,000 man-hours to remove the Chinese-made magnets and replace them with American ones, the documents indicate.

Lockheed is developing the F-35, the Pentagon's costliest arms program, for the United States and eight countries that helped fund its development: Britain, Canada, Australia, Italy, Norway, Turkey, Denmark and the Netherlands. Israel and Japan have also placed orders for the jet.

The program is already years behind schedule and 70 percent over initial cost estimates. At the time Kendall was granting the waivers, officials were acutely worried that further delays and cost increases would erode the foreign orders needed to drive down the future cost of each warplane.

In the documents, Kendall underscored the importance of the F-35 program to ensure continued U.S. military superiority and counter potential emerging threats from nations developing their own stealth fighter jets, including Russia and China.

He said additional delays would force the United States and its allies to keep its legacy fighters flying longer, which would result in higher maintenance costs. It would also leave them with older jets, which Kendall said "cannot match the offensive and defensive capabilities provided by F-35."

The Pentagon first disclosed problems with non-U.S. magnets in a little-noticed written statement to Congress in the spring of 2013. But the statement did not name companies involved and did not disclose that some of the parts came from China.

Officials at Northrop, Honeywell and Lockheed declined to comment on the issue, referring queries to the Pentagon.

Joe DellaVedova, spokesman for the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) at the Pentagon, said the office was committed to ensuring that federal defense acquisition laws were strictly followed.

"There was never any risk of technology transfer or other security breach associated with these manufacturing compliance issues," he said. "The JPO is working with industry to put in place long-term solutions to avoid the need for future waivers."

In his statement to Congress, Kendall said he took the matter "extremely seriously" and said Lockheed was told to take aggressive steps to identify any further cases, and correct its compliance process.

Bill Greenwalt, a former senior defense official and now an analyst with the American Enterprise Institute think tank, said the risk to national security appeared low since the magnets in question had no programmable hardware.

However, he added: "This is an area that will need considerable due diligence in the future to ensure that components for more high-risk applications are safe from potential tampering and foreign mischief."

SPECIALTY METALS

Since 1973, U.S. laws have banned the procurement of specialty metals produced outside the United States for use on U.S. weapons. A separate 2006 law also bans the purchase of end-use items and components that include such specialty metals.

The documents reviewed by Reuters show that Northrop first discovered the use of non-compliant Japanese magnets on the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar it builds for the F-35 in August 2012, alerting the prime contractor, Lockheed, which then told the Pentagon.

A subsequent investigation of all parts on the F-35 turned up two more cases in which non-U.S. specialty metals were used on the F-35's radar, and on target assemblies built by Honeywell that are used for positioning doors and landing gear.

Northrop's radar was also found to contain $2 magnets made by Chengdu Magnetic Material Science & Technology Co, in China's Sichuan region, according to the documents.

The magnets used on the Honeywell target assemblies were acquired through Illinois-based Dexter Magnetic Technologies Inc.

Dexter and Chengdu Magnetic did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

KNOWING AND WILLFUL?

In June, the House Armed Services Committee asked the GAO to determine whether the companies involved "knowingly and willfully" supplied non-compliant magnets, and how the Pentagon investigated that question. The committee also asked GAO for recommendations on potential changes, such as fines or penalties for non-compliance to deter future problems, as well as suggestions for beefing up Pentagon supply chain management procedures.

In a document approving use of Chinese magnets on the batch of 32 F-35 fighter planes now being built, Kendall said neither Lockheed nor Northrop knowingly allowed the parts to be used.

In his waiver, Kendall wrote that Northrop's initial mistake, involving magnets built in Japan, was an "administrative oversight" and noted the firm quickly reported the matter when it was discovered in August 2012. It led to the comprehensive review that found two additional issues involving Chinese-built magnets.

It is not clear from the waiver documents whether Kendall determined that Honeywell's use of Chinese-built magnets involved a similar mistake.

(Editing by Michael Williams, Tiffany Wu and Grant McCool)


*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Reuters
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*Photograph: IPF (International Pool of Friends) + DTN News / otherwise source stated
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Oshkosh Defense Unveils New Light Vehicle For Unconventional, Recon Missions At Modern Day Marine 2012

Asia News Report: DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Oshkosh Defense Unveils New Light Vehicle For Unconventional, Recon Missions At Modern Day Marine 2012
*Oshkosh L-ATV selected for the JLTV EMD phase also on display

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Oshkosh Defense 
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - September 24, 2012: Expanding its portfolio of light military vehicles, Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK), is unveiling its new Special Purpose All-Terrain Vehicle (S-ATV) designed for unconventional and reconnaissance missions at Modern Day Marine 2012, Sept. 25-27 in Quantico, Va. Oshkosh will also have its Light Combat Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle (L-ATV), which was selected for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) Engineering, Manufacturing and Development (EMD) phase, at the show.

"We have developed a broad range of high-performance light vehicles to offer Warfighters next-generation capabilities for future battlefields," said John Bryant, vice president and general manager of Joint and Marine Corps Programs for Oshkosh Defense. "Our L-ATV and S-ATV platforms, coupled with an array of Oshkosh-developed HMMWV upgrade solutions, demonstrate exciting innovations. The off-road mobility, crew protection and reliability that are hallmarks of our heavy, medium and MRAP platforms have been leveraged in different ways across these light vehicles to meet a range of operational needs."

Oshkosh specifically designed the S-ATV based on emerging worldwide requirements for forces performing unconventional and reconnaissance missions. The S-ATV utilizes Oshkosh's battle-proven off-road technologies and expertise to nimbly travel across rugged, remote and urban terrains at high speeds. The vehicle is available in multiple weight and protection configurations.

Delivering the Oshkosh JLTV Solution
Oshkosh received a contract in August to deliver 22 Light Combat Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle (L-ATV) prototypes for the JLTV EMD phase, as well as to support government testing and evaluation of the vehicles. The joint services are expected to replace tens of thousands of HMMWVs with the JLTV.

"The Oshkosh JLTV solution was designed with a purpose – to keep Warfighters safe on future battlefields with unpredictable terrain, tactics, and threats," said John Bryant, vice president and general manager of Joint and Marine Corps Programs for Oshkosh Defense. "Oshkosh has a 90-year history of delivering high quality military vehicle programs on-time and on-budget, and our JLTV program is no exception. We understand how critical this light, protected, off-road vehicle will be to Warfighters."

The Oshkosh L-ATV offers an advanced crew protection system that has been extensively tested and is proven to optimize crew survivability. The L-ATV can accept multiple armor configurations, which allows the vehicle to adapt easily to changing operational requirements. The L-ATV also applies the Oshkosh TAK-4i™ intelligent independent-suspension system to provide significantly faster speeds when operating off-road, which can be critical to troops' safety.

Oshkosh executives will be on hand to discuss the vehicles, technologies and vehicle lifecycle management at booth #2404.

About Oshkosh Defense
Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation, is an industry-leading global designer and manufacturer of tactical military trucks and armored wheeled vehicles, delivering a full product line of conventional and hybrid vehicles, advanced armor options, proprietary suspensions and vehicles with payloads that can exceed 70 tons. Oshkosh Defense provides a global service and supply network including full life-cycle support and remanufacturing, and its vehicles are recognized the world over for superior performance, reliability and protection. For more information, visit www.oshkoshdefense.com.

About Oshkosh Corporation
Oshkosh Corporation is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of specialty access equipment, commercial, fire & emergency and military vehicles and vehicle bodies. Oshkosh Corporation manufactures, distributes and services products under the brands of Oshkosh®, JLG®, Pierce®, McNeilus®, Jerr-Dan®, Oshkosh Specialty Vehicles, Frontline™, CON-E-CO®, London® and IMT®. Oshkosh products are valued worldwide in businesses where high quality, superior performance, rugged reliability and long-term value are paramount. For more information, visit www.oshkoshcorporation.com.

®, TM All brand names referred to in this news release are trademarks of Oshkosh Corporation or its subsidiary companies.

 *Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Oshkosh Defense
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*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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