Never seen before F-35′s centerline gun pod unveiled February 23, 2012
Posted by David Cenciotti in F-35.Tags: AIM-9 Sidewinder, CTOL, gun pod, Joint Strike Fighter, Lockheed Martin, Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, Naval Air Systems Command, STOVL
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This image was posted on the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) few hours after I published the F-35 progress report with all the 2012′s updates.
On Feb. 22, six days after the first F-35A CTOL (Conventional Take Off and Landing) had flown with external stores, even the STOVL (Short Take Off and Vertical Landing) variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, flew for the first time with external weapons.
Noteworthy, along with the AIM-9X carried by the CTOL, the F-35B carried a never seen before (at least in photo) white 25 mm gun pod on the centerline.
Its particular shape was probably designed to fit in the triangular space between the fuselage weapons doors.
Image credit: Lockheed Martin
Exclusive Infographic: all Cyber Attacks on Military Aviation and Aerospace Industry February 21, 2012
Posted by Paolo Passeri in Information Security.Tags: Boeing 787 Dreamliner, China, Creech Air Force Base, Cyber Attacks Timeline, Cyberwar, Cyberwarfare, drone, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, F-35 Lightning II, Hacking, Information Security, Iran, Jaxa, Joint Strike Fighter, JSF, L-3, L-3 Communications, Lockheed Martin, Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel, Malware, McAfee, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Northrop Grumman, Pentagon, RQ-170, RSA, SecurID, Sophos, Trend Micro, Virus
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2011 has been an annus horribilis for information security, and aviation has not been an exception to this rule: not only in 2011 the corporate networks of several aviation and aerospace industries have been targeted by digital storms (not a surprise in the so-called hackmageddon) but, above all, last year will be probably remembered for the unwelcome record of two alleged hacking events targeting drones (“alleged” because in the RQ-170 Sentinel downed in Iran episode, several doubts surround the theory according to which GPS hacking could have been the real cause of the crash landing).
But, if Information Security professionals are quite familiar with the idea that military contractors are primary and preferred targets of the current Cyberwar as the following infographic shows, realizing that malware can be used to target a drone is still considered an isolated episode, and even worse, the idea of a malware targeting the multirole Joint Strike Fighter is still something hard to accept.
However, things are about change dramatically. And quickly.
The reason is simple: the latest military and civil airplanes are literally full of electronics, which play a primary role in managing avionics, onboard systems, flight surfaces, communcation equipment and armament.
For instance an F-22 Raptor owns about 1.7 millions od line of codes , an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter about 5.7 millions and a Boeing 787 Dreamliner about 6.5 millions. Everything with some built in code may be exploited, therefore, with plenty of code and much current and future vulnerabilities, one may not rule out a priori that these systems will be targeted with specific tailored or generic malware for Cyberwar, Cybercrime, or even hacktivism purposes.
Unfortunately it looks like the latter hypothesis is closer to reality since too often these systems are managed by standard Windows operating systems, and as a matter of fact a generic malware has proven to be capable to infect the most important U.S. robots flying in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, and Indian Ocean: Predator and Reaper Drones.
As a consequence, it should not be surprising, nor it is a coincidence, that McAfee, Sophos and Trend Micro, three leading players for Endpoint Security, consider the embedded systems as one of the main security concerns for 2012.
Making networks more secure (and personnel more educated) to prevent the leak of mission critical documents and costly project plans (as happened in at least a couple of circumstances) will not be aviation and aerospace industry’s information security challenge; the real challenge will be to embrace the security-by-design paradigm and make secure and malware-proof products ab initio.
While you wait to see if an endpoint security solution becomes available for an F-35, scroll down the image below and enjoy the list of aviation and aerospace related cyber attacks occurred since the very first hack targeting the F-35 Lightning II in 2009.
Of course aviation and aerospace industries are not the only targets for hackers and cybercriminals. So, if you want to have an idea of how fragile our data are inside the cyberspace, have a look at the timelines of the main Cyber Attacks in 2011 and 2012 (regularly updated) at hackmageddon.com. And follow @pausparrows on Twitter for the latest updates.
Photo: Lockheed Martin F-35′s first mission with external weapons February 20, 2012
Posted by David Cenciotti in F-35.Tags: Joint Strike Fighter, JSF, F-35, CTOL, Joint Direct Attack Munition, air-to-air missile, Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, Edwards Air Force Base, AIM-120 AMRAAM, Air-to-ground weaponry, AIM-9 Sidewinder
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On Feb. 16, 2012, an F-35A aircraft from Edwards AFB, California, flew for the first time with external weapons.
Although no weapons were delivered during the sortie, the payload of the Joint Strike Fighter’s Conventional Takeoff and Landing (CTOL) variant in this test mission included two AIM-9X air-to-air missiles on the outboard wing stations, two internal 2,000-pound GBU-31 GPS-guided bombs and two AIM-120 AMRAAMs (Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles) inside the two internal weapon bays.
The F-35 had also four external pylons that can carry 2,000-lb air-to-ground weapons.
The 5th Generation multirole fighter is designed to carry up to 18,000 pounds on 10 weapon stations featuring four weapon stations inside two weapon bays, for maximum stealth capability, and an additional three weapon stations on each wing.
Image credit: Lockheed Martin by Paul Weatherman
Along with the B STOVL (Short Take Off Vertical Landing) variant, the CTOL one was selected by Italy to replace the Air Force’s Tornado and AMX bombers.
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- Touch screen, voice activated commands, portal. A new smartphone or tablet? No, the Lockheed Martin F-35′s glass cockpit. (theaviationist.com)
Old Harriers and new choppers unleashed. Welcome aboard the Cavour aircraft carrier during “blue water ops”. January 27, 2012
Posted by David Cenciotti in Aircraft Carriers.Tags: AW-101, Caio Duilio, Cavour, F-35, Italian aircraft carrier Cavour (550), Italian Navy, Joint Strike Fighter, Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, Marina Militare, McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II, NH-90, STOVL
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On Jan. 25, along with the ambassadors of NATO members, EU, Middle East and Mediterranean partners, The Aviationist has had the opportunity to visit the Cavour aircraft carrier during “blue water ops” off Civitavecchia port.
The event was jointly organized by the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to showcase one of the most important assets of the Italian Defense, one of the few European aircraft carriers that is not only important for military operations, but it is also a versatile platform that made its operative debut during the Haiti relief mission.
The Cavour symbolizes “a variety of possible uses that make it cost-effective” said Adm. Luigi Binelli Mantelli, future Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy.
Along with the F-35 program, the Italian Navy flagship was recently targeted by potential budget cuts as a consequence of the country’s financial crisis. However, “the AV-8B will fly until 2020, when they will be replaced by the F-35B. The MoD Di Paola has confirmed the project will continue. We don’t know how many aircraft we will get. The Air Force will get the majority, but even the Italian Navy will receive its planes” Binelli Mantelli said.
According to the Admiral, the F-35, is mainly an Air Force project, since the service needs the plane for its future. However, the Navy has joined the program and the future STOVL (Short Take Off Vertical Landing) variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, that was removed from probation one year earlier than expected, will serve as a force multiplier and complement the capabilities of the ship, capabilities that were showed to the ambassadors, diplomats and media during a tactical event involving the AV-8B+ Harrier (both single and double seat), AW-101 and NH-90 helicopters, the San Marco Regiment special forces and the Caio Duilio, a radar-evading Anti-Air Warfare destroyer.
Giovanni Maduli took the following images for The Aviationist.
“The F-35 remains essential to the future of air superiority” Panetta says. And Lockheed Martin reassures: “we will solve all JSF problems.” January 27, 2012
Posted by David Cenciotti in F-35.Tags: Eurofighter Typhoon, F-35, Italian Air Force, Italian Navy, Japan Air Self Defense Force, Joint Strike Fighter, Leon Panetta, Lockheed Martin, Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, STOVL, USS Wasp
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On Jan. 26, several hours before U.S. SECDEF Leon Panetta would say the Joint Strike Fighter remains a DoD top priority program “essential to the future of air superiority”, Charles “Tom” Burbage, Executive VP of Lockheed Martin and General Manager of F-35 Program Integration, had already explained in a Press Briefing held in Rome that, in spite of rumors and criticism surrounding the costly fifth generation combat plane, he did not anticipate any significant downsizing of the program.
“Every country is reducing defense budget but no country has reduced the F-35” he said, explaining also that one of the most appealing features of the program for international partners is the involvement of local companies, which supply components, systems and know-how, well before a single aircraft is purchased.
Moreover, the F-35 has recently collected some important achievement, making Burbage and the rest of the company optimistic about the future of the entire program.
First came in December 2011 the selection of the JSF as the Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) next gengeration aircraft, following the F-X competitive bid process that saw the Lockheed plane win on both the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Boeing F-18 Super Hornet.
Then the F-35B STOVL (Short Take Off Vertical Landing) was removed from probation one year ahead of schedule. Finally, the F-35C (Carrier Variant) was fixed with a new tailhook system that will be tested beginning next April, making arrested landing on aircraft carriers possible after the series of failed tests.
Last year was particularly important for the revolutionary plane. It flew about 20% more than expected, performed sea trials taking off and landing (vertically) from USS Wasp and “had no issues on the ship”, Burbage said, in spite of the alleged noise and heating problems.
Dealing with the series of issues highlighted by the JSF Concurrency Quick Look Review and other official and unofficial reports leaked at the end of last year, Burbage explains: “we are currently 20% into the test program. Today’s issues are not going to affect customers that will receive the aircraft years later, when the problem is fixed.”
In the last few days, Burbage and its entourage have met the Italian Minister of Defense Di Paola and the top Italian Air Force and Navy officers. Talks were satisfactory and Lockheed is quite confident that in spite of the financial crisis and raising criticism at political level, Italy will keep the commitment as Level 2 partner (worth 2 Billion USD already invested) in the program, which calls for total U.S. purchases of 2,443 F-35s in both A, B and C versions for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, and envisages 697 planes for other partners (UK, Italy, Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Turkey).
Japan aside, the F-35 has export chances also in South Korea, that is the only non-partner country Lockheed Martin is in talks for a possible JSF sale. Should the F-35 be selected in South Korea, the number of planes procured by Security Cooperative Participants (Singapore and Israel) and foreign customers (including Japan) will exceed the number of F-35s ordered by partners.
Since there’s no commitment yet nor any value was set, no reduction or cut in the amount of aircraft can be foreseen. Italy is not buying 131 planes. The initial requirement was for 69 F-35A and 62 F-35B (40 for the Air Force and 22 for the Navy), but Italy will buy the plane in batches: 4 planes, then 5 planes and so on. Therefore, Italy will have some F-35s, some of them will be STOVL ones to equip the Cavour aircraft carrier.
Eventually, in the U.S. the F-35 survived the Pentagon budget cuts: the US will continue buying F-35s, but will slow its purchase of the stealth fighter planes.
Indeed, it’s a very good period for the Joint Strike Fighter.
F-35: flying on phased out fuel or programmed by a videogame freak? January 23, 2012
Posted by David Cenciotti in F-35.Tags: Air BP, Glass cockpit, Joint Strike Fighter, JP-4, JP-8, Lockheed Martin, Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, Military Aviation, Pentagon
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Soon after publishing the article about the “F-35 from the Cockpit” I’ve received some emails and comments about an interesting thing readers have noticed in one of the webminar slides used to show the Joint Strike Fighter glass cockpit’s symbology.
As the following image seems to suggest, the most advanced 5th generation combat plane, integrating the best stealth technologies, full sensor fusion and a futuristic X-ray-like capable helmet, flies on JP-4 fuel, a dangerous kind of propellant, quick to ignite and explode, that was largely used from 1951 to 1996, when it was phased out and replaced by the safer, kerosene-based, JP-8.
Image: Lockeed Martin (highlight mine)
As explained in the website of Air BP (“the specialised aviation division of BP, providing fuels, lubricants & services to our customers in over 50 countries worldwide”):
although JP-8 has replaced JP-4 in most every case, the potential need for JP-4 under emergency situations necessitates maintaining this grade in specifications MIL-DTL-5624 and Defence Standard 91-88.
However, unless the JP-4 was/is used for testing purposes, it is quite strange that while some combat planes are beginning to perform test flights on eco-friendly biofuel or synthetic fuel, the F-35 is flying on a type of jet propellant presumed to be phased-out or used only in emergency situations.
Unless, the F-35′s glass cockpit symbology, so “user friendly” to remind some early flight simulator games, was not only designed for a “videogame freak” as test pilots said during the webminar, but also by someone who used to play with arcade games with some simulation elements (as F/A-18 Interceptor or F-19 Stealth Fighter) in the ’90s, when the JP-4 was still in use :)
F-35 targeted in potential military cuts. If Italy quits, will the stealth plane ever be affordable? January 6, 2012
Posted by David Cenciotti in F-35, Military Aviation.Tags: Eurofighter Typhoon, Italian Air Force, Italy, Joint Strike Fighter, JSF, Lockheed Martin, Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, STOVL
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With a new set of austerity measures aimed at saving up to $25 billion to balance the budget by 2013 (and avoid a catastrophic default that would put the entire Euro-zone at risk) just approved, Italy could be soon compelled to review many of its future defense projects.
Even if the new Defense Minister, Adm. Di Paola pointed to a significant cut in terms of personnel, as the most important measure to preserve Italy’s capability to sustain current projects as well as internal and foreign missions, the amount of lawmakers among all political forces who advocate further weapon cuts has grown in the last few days.
The priority targets for cuts this days have been already identified: the Lockheed Martin F-35, that the Italian Air Force and Navy would like to use to replace the AMX, the Tornado and the AV-8B+ Harrier fleets (in other words, the only air-to-surface assets Italy can employ in Crisis Support Operations); and the Cavour, the second and most modern Italian aircraft carrier destined to be equipped with the much troubled F-35B, the STOVL (Short Take Off and Vertical Landing) version of the Joint Strike Fighter.
Dealing with the F-35, Italy has planned a purchase of 131 F-35s, worth about 15 billion Euro. Of those, 20-22 are supposed to be the Harrier replacement on the Cavour while the rest should be conventional A planes. The Air Force is interested in both the A and B version.
Both right and left-wing parties are becoming more critical about Italy’s involvement in the F-35 program arguing that the stealth fighter is a waste of money for a country on the verge of financial collapse. In their opinion, Italy should leave the program and lose the 2.5 billion Euro already invested in the development to save the 13 needed for production. Furthermore, “Italy is not about to attack anyone”, hence there is no need for such an expensive defense investment.
More or less the same words were used to criticize the aircraft carrier, that costs the Italian taxpayers 100,000 Euro each day (when docked; 200,000 Euro/day when on cruise).
For sure, the F-35 is a costly and uncertain program. However, some of its problems and delays deals with the advanced technology that this innovative aircraft integrates. Hence, the decision to quit the program should be weighed heavily. If this aircraft survives, it will be the backbone of the U.S. attack fleet, replacing several aircraft types; if Italy confirms its involvement procuring “some” F-35s, it will have the opportunity to develop, operate and evaluate the future most advanced (and costly) combat plane.
Sooner or later Italy will be compelled to replace its ageing fleet of attack planes. Even if one of the Lessons Identified in Libya was the need for a light and cheap aircraft like the AMX to sustain long lasting air wars, current planes can’t live forever nor can be continuously upgraded to keep them in service for 3 or 4 decades.
When the moment arrives, there won’t be many options. One of them is using an upgraded Typhoon, a multirole non-stealth fighter plane of the so-called 4+ generation that, when required to replace the above mentioned Italian attack planes, will have to face 5th if not 6th generation manned and unmanned stealth fighters made of morphing metals and flight surfaces featuring some Star Wars-like equipment.
Nor the problem of replacing the Harriers on the Cavour should be underestimated. Since all the former RAF jump jets were purchased by the USMC, there will be few options if Italy quits: either second or third-hand AV-8Bs or a navalised Typhoon like the one offered to India (provided this version will ever be developed and compatible with the Italian ship).
Above all, Italy should remember how much the decision to keep the F-104 in service for 40 years has cost to the Italian Air Force, equipped with a jurassic fighter almost useless in real operations not even capable to ensure an effective air defense service at home. When it became evident that the amazing Starfighter could not be updated any more two gap fillers had to be hired until the Eurofighter Typhoon became available. A costly and painful move.
Although it’s still unclear whether Italy will simply downsize its procurement or withdraw from the program, what’s certain is that every canceled Italian plane will increase the costs of the remainder making their unit price if not unaffordable, less affordable.
Unit price depends also on the foreign sales. U.S. have commitments from allies to buy as many as 500 jets. Moreover, Japan has selected the F-35 as the future F-X and Lockheed Martin will build 42 stealth planes for the JASDF, a breath of fresh air that would be completely wiped out by an Italian withdrawal.
The Economist has already warned that the program is in danger of slipping into the “death spiral” where increasing unit costs would lead to cuts in number of ordered plane, leading to further costs that would boost order cuts.
In the meanwhile, the average price of each plane in “then-year” dollars has risen from $69m in 2001 to $133 million in 2011, a price that has been already declared unaffordable by Pentagon’s top weapons buyer Ashton Carter who talked to the Senate Armed Services committee in May 2011.
Image source: Lockheed Martin
Related articles
- Top military aviation stories of 2011: drones up and downs, stealth projects exposed and Libya’s 7-month-long war. (theaviationist.com)
- Typhoons over the Negev: the Italian Air Force and the Israeli Air Force in Exercise “Desert Dusk” (theaviationist.com)
- Britain sells 72 retired Harriers (bbc.co.uk)
F-35: an expensive hard-to-recycle form of garbage? October 28, 2011
Posted by David Cenciotti in Aviation, F-35, Military Aviation.Tags: F-35, FX-3, Joint Strike Fighter, JSF
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I find the following picture rather funny. It was taken at Seoul Air Show and shows a Lockheed F-35 Lightning II….with a “garbage” sign posted on the barrier in front of the plane. Obviously it’s only a matter of perspective, but I must admit that the signs seems to be an explainatory panel like the ones you can find next to the airplanes in static display. The person who took this picture and sent it to me has a sense of humour (and knows how to tease a competitor).
The F-35 is in fact among the candidates for S. Korea’s next generation fighter, known as FX-III project with a budget of 8.29 trillion won (7.86 billion USD) for 60 jets. It competes with the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Boeing F-15SE and Sukhoi T50 PAK-FA (yes, the Russia’s 5th generation fighter plane, that was forced to abort take off after at MAKS 2011 air show on Aug. 21, at Ramenskoye air base, near Moscow.
Initially seen as the favorite candidate, the F-35 has been recently questioned because of the delays and the high unit cost. As reported by the Seoul Daily on Sept. 16, a high raking DAPA (Defense Acquisition Program Administration) recently said “A fighter, which is not detected by the radar system, but low in strike capability, will not be effective. We will not necessarily insist on stealth function”, a remark that undermined one of the cornerstones of Lockheed’s appearant advantage over competitors.
Competitors that didn’t miss the chance to take a picture that ridiculed the still dangerous opponent.
PS Please don’t send me tons of emails to tell me why I’m against the F-35. It’s just a humorous picture.
A new breed of fighter pilots for easy-to-fly high tech fighter jets August 17, 2011
Posted by David Cenciotti in F-35, Military Aviation.Tags: Eurofighter, F-35, fighter pilot, fighter plane, HMDS, Joint Strike Fighter, JSF, netcentric warfare, sensor fusion, stealth, Typhoon, USAF
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Earlier this summer, the U.S. Air Force took delivery of the first production of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II to the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin AFB, Fla. The F-35 is the world’s most advanced multirole aircraft. It is the most expensive single U.S. military procurement project in history and is expected to replace a wide range of aircraft in the military’s inventory.
Designated AF-9, the newly delivered jet is a multi-role conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) version of the futuristic fighter plane known as Joint Strike Fighter, which has been chosen by the air forces of Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway.
Two other variants of the Joint Strike Fighter have been developed and are currently under testing: a short take off and vertical landing one, designated F-35B, and the F-35C carrier-based variant, selected for aircraft carrier operations by the U.S. Navy and the UK’s Royal Air Force. Israel will employ a customized version designated F-35I.
The F-35 Lightning II is a fifth generation fighter. It combines the high speed and agility of fast jet planes with modern technologies such as radar-evading fiber mat skins and gigabit data networking for net-centric warfare.
New breed of fighter pilots
The Joint Strike fighter aircraft is designed to improve a pilot’s situational awareness by and collecting and combining data from different onboard and offboard data sources into a single detailed view of the surrounding airspace and battlefield.
Like most modern advanced fighter planes, it contains a complex weapon system: pilots have to focus on information management, rather than worrying about “flying the aircraft.” For this reason, today’s fighter pilots are more like system administrators or information managers than the iconic Top Guns of the past.
“With previous generations fighters, flying the airplane required 80 percent of the pilot’s effort,” said one pilot of the Italian Air Force who has recently taken part to Unified Protector in Libya with the Eurofighter Typhoon, Europe’s most advanced fighter.
“With modern planes, the basic handling it’s quite simple and represents no more than 20 percent: they almost fly autonomously. On the other side, management of the huge amount of information that it provides can be overwhelming [and] is quite demanding,” this pilot told TechNewsDaily under condition of anonymity.
Lt.Col. Salvatore “Cheero” Ferrara, an Italian Air Force pilot assigned to the JSF program at Washington DC, had a slightly different take on the responsibilities of today’s pilots.
“I believe that the traits of future fighter pilots will be roughly the same as those of past pilots,” Ferrara said. “The only difference is that those skills will be used in a different way: instead of processing flight mechanics data – as I had to do with the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter – they will need to process and manage the huge amount of digital information concerning the management of both the mission and the electronic scenario.”
Easier to fly than ever before
Some years ago, under the supervision of a Lockheed Martin test pilot, I had the opportunity to fly, hover and vertically land a F-35B jet in a military flight simulator. I was surprised to discover that the controls of the so-called Cockpit Demonstrator were not as alien or difficult to navigate as I expected. There was a big panoramic touch screen that can be configured at will by tapping the screen with fingers, like a tablet or a smartphone.
…..
[Read the rest of my article on Tech News Daily]
Image source: Lockheed Martin
