F-35 News Washington, hearings by Congress
USN unable to integrate F-35s Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) with the Navy’s systems as Lockheed own the IPR, Navy limited access/rights the coding and to the data coming out of ALIS. [LOL]
The Joint Program Office (JPO) estimates that continued development of the F-35 to deal with evolving threats and changing warfighting environments will cost the U.S. government more than $1 billion a year between 2018 and 2024.
In total, JPO estimates that continuous capability development and delivery (C2D2) of the F-35 will cost $16.4 billion over that seven-year time period, with some $11 billion going toward development and $5.4 billion toward procurement.
Vice Admiral Winter, who leads JPO, said development costs will be shared with U.S. allies, leaving the Department of Defense on the hook for $7.2 billion.
U.S. Rep. Nicola Tsongas said she requested the estimate from JPO after not being able to pin down an official baseline cost for the program.
The nearly $16 billion figure represented the outer limit of the modernization costs to bring all of the jets to their maximum potential currently known as “Block 4,” Winter told reporters after the hearing.
International customers were estimated to be responsible for $3.7 billion [UK ~ 20%? = ~£500 million] of the $10.8 billion software development costs, with the United States shouldering the rest, spending about $1 billion per year over the seven-year plan, Winter said.
“We understand that the F-35 program needs to reduce F-35 operations and supports costs by about one-third to meet service budget goals for affordability,” said Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) on Wednesday.
“Why is the F-35 so expensive to keep flying?” asked Sen. Angus King (I-Maine).
A lot of the parts of that aircraft are very expensive. If there a component fails or parts need replacing, the Pentagon has to go to the manufacturer to create new parts. Funding for a components and parts replacement program was included in the pending FY2019 budget, said Vice Adm. Paul Grosklags, the Navy’s commander of Naval Air Systems Command.
In a few situations, a part could be covered by a warranty, but Grosklags said for the most part, the Pentagon’s ability to negotiate warranties is limited by congressional language dating back several years. [LOL]
Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Mass., a ranking member of the subpanel, is the development of new, related software technology that could lead to more financial headaches.
“The F35 program has come a long way,” Tsongas said. However, “the last 17 years of F-35 software development have seen dramatic cost increase and delays. How this new effort will somehow defy this unfortunate history remains an open question.”
The bulk of the Air Force’s F-35A fleet is on an older software suite and is mission capable less than half the time, as the service works to catch up on its maintenance and sustainment, a senior USAF official told Congress Wednesday.
Out of the Air Force’s 130 total F-35As, 100 are on the older Block 2B software suite and have a mission capable rate in the “low 40” percent, Lt. Gen. Jerry Harris, the deputy chief of staff for strategic plans, programs, and requirements said at a House Armed Services Tactical Air and Land subcommittee hearing. The rest are in the upgraded Block 3I and 3F software suites, with these running a mission capable rate in the “60 to 70” percentage range, Harris said.
At the same time, the Air Force is still facing issues with the F-35’s ALIS. The Air Force knew at the outset of the program that ALIS would have shortfalls and would need to be upgraded, but these upgrades are proving to be “longer and more manpower intense” than expected, Harris said.
The Air Force is in the middle of an in-depth study of ALIS and its shortfalls, which should be completed by the end of the year, he said.
The service was also late in standing up depots for the F-35, which in turn has led to slowdowns and issues in fixing jets and refurbishing parts, at times going back to the manufacturer to make new parts, Harris said.
All of this has not only limited the mission capability rate of the F-35A fleet, but also has led to a hefty price tag. F-35As currently cost about $50,000 per flight hour, varied by which software suite and if the jet is operational or in a training location.
From <
http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articl ... blems.html>
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Be even better if one of them had Royal Navy on the tail 
