Connu également sous le nom de Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), le F-35 Lightning II est un avion multirôle en cours de développement en 2009 par le constructeur Lockheed Martin, avec comme principaux partenaires Northrop Grumman et BAE Systems, et qui doit entrer en service à l'horizon 2012.
Initialement lancé pour équiper les trois composantes aériennes des forces armées américaines (US Air Force, US Navy et US Marine Corps), le programme du F-35 a rapidement été rejoint par une dizaine de pays qui participent à son financement et à sa réalisation. Il devrait être produit à plus de 2 000 exemplaires et devrait être distribué aux États-Unis, au Canada et au Royaume-Uni entre autres.
Constructeur Lockheed Martin Rôle Avion multirôle Premier vol 11 juin 2008 (F-35B) Mise en service 2012 (F-35B) Investissement 300 milliards USD[1] Coût unitaire 49,5 millions USD (F-35A) 69,3 millions USD (F-35B) 64,5 millions USD (F-35C)[1]
Vue de l'avion (U.S. Air Force photo)
Dernière édition par Admin le Mar 26 Fév 2013 - 17:52, édité 5 fois
F-35 B : Le troisième prototype a réalisé son premier vol 19-02-2010
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Prototype du F-35 B
Le troisième prototype de l'avion à décollage court et appontage vertical F-35 B a réalisé son premier vol début février. En tout, Lockheed-Martin et ses partenaires comptent utiliser 13 prototypes afin de mener à bien les essais sur les différentes versions de l'appareil : F-35 A pour les armées de l'air, F-35 B pour les porte-aéronefs et porte-hélicoptères d'assaut et F-35 C conçu pour être catapulté depuis porte-avions. Les forces armées américaines utiliseront les trois modèles, dont le F-35 A pour l'US Navy et le F-35 B pour l'US Marine Corps. Le plan initial prévoit l'acquisition de 230 avions pour la première et 450 pour le second.
Outre les Etats-Unis, les marines anglaise, italienne et espagnoles souhaitent acquérir le F-35 B afin de remplacer les Harrier actuellement en service.
F-35 : "pas prêt à voler avant fin 2015" 04/03/2010
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Le chasseur furtif F-35 ne sera pas prêt à voler avant 2015, soit deux ans plus tard que prévu, a affirmé hier le secrétaire américain à l'armée de l'Air, Michael Donley, dernier accroc en date dans un programme marqué par problèmes et retards. "Je crois vraiment que nous allons avoir un glissement" dans le calendrier du F-35, a déclaré Michael Donley. Selon les dernières estimations, l'avion sera prêt d'ici la fin 2015, a-t-il précisé.
Michael Donley a indiqué que le Pentagone poussait le constructeur Lockheed Martin à accélérer la cadence, tout en maîtrisant les coûts. "Nous voulons maintenir la pression sur les fournisseurs", a-t-il dit. "Nous voulons les encourager à tenir leurs promesses et à livrer (l'avion) dans les temps". Ces propos soulèvent de nouvelles interrogations quant à l'avancement du programme F-35 "Joint Strike Fighter", un avion furtif construit pour remplacer, à terme, les F-16. Il s'agit du programme d'armement le plus coûteux du budget de la Défense, qui totalise 708 milliards de dollars, et les fournisseurs ont à plusieurs reprises échoué à respecter le calendrier et le budget impartis.
Le secrétaire américain à la Défense Robert Gates avait annoncé début février qu'il avait renvoyé le général chargé de ce programme et allait geler une somme de 614 millions de dollars destinée à Lockheed Martin. Le Pentagone prévoit d'acheter 2.500 F-35 au cours des 25 prochaines années pour un coût total de 300 milliards de dollars.
F-35B Lightning II 40 knt Approach and Landing 11/03/2010
Test pilot Graham Tomlinson guides the supersonic F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter in a 40-knot (46 mph) flight above Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., then descends for a 75-knot (86 mph) slow landing.
The flight on Wednesday, March 10, was one of the last missions before the aircraft's first vertical landing. The F-35B features a shaft-driven lift fan propulsion system that produces more than 41,000 pounds of vertical thrust, enabling airspeeds from zero to Mach 1.6. F-35B customers include the U.S. Marine Corps, the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, and the Italian Air Force and Navy.
Distributed Aperture System for the F-35 JSF 22/01/2010
Northrop Grumman has developed the only 360 degree, spherical situational awareness system in the electro-optical distributed aperture system (DAS). The DAS surrounds the aircraft with a protective sphere of situational awareness.
It warns the pilot of incoming aircraft and missile threats as well as providing day/night vision, fire control capability and precision tracking of wingmen/friendly aircraft for tactical maneuvering.
Je pense que oui, mais plus il est perfectionné plus il devient cher, voici un article qui traite cette question :
F-35 Lightning II Cost has Doubled; F136 Engine Completes Afterburner Test 23 mars 2010
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The JSF continues to increase in cost, while Lockheed Martin and military official defend the program
The cost of each next-generation F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft has ballooned from $50 million per craft in 2001 to more than $113 million in 2010.
The price tag has ballooned due to delays and other major holdups. Such a drastic price increase has again forced military leaders to defend the JSF program in front of Congress – patience is running out as the military looks for ways to trim costs.
Lockheed Martin also has been forced to defend the numerous delays and price increases to the government, but still has been unable to keep costs under control.
There is possible evidence the contractor "bought into" the JSF program by offering a lower price it knew it would be unable to meet (without steadily raising the costs in later years). Lockheed Martin was able to edge out Boeing's competing X-32 offering in part to due to better SVTOL performance, a low price tag, and the fact that the X-35 (precursor to the F-35 Lightning II) would borrow some technology from the larger F-22 Raptor.
The F-35 Lightning II was expected to become the most expensive weapons program picked up by the Pentagon, and the new price will again lead some politicians and military leaders to discuss dropping the program. Continued disappointment has led the USAF to show more interest in mobility instead of relying on the JSF program -- especially after the expected one-year delay.
The U.S. military does have some positive outlooks, however, with the GE Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team recently completing successful afterburner tests on its third engine. There are six F136 engine tests scheduled in 2010.
“We are marching along in development, making progress every day, and achieving full afterburner on our newest engine demonstrates the capability and success of the F136 team. It also means the F-35 program is another step closer to reaping the proven benefits of enduring competition in the engine program,” said Al DiLibero, President of GE Rolls-Royce's Fighter Engine Team.
Aviation (4) : les boulets à traîner, l’avion bon à tout et bon à rien
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S’il y a bien un exemple des dérives incontrôlées du développement d’un avion, le F-35 Lightning II est un très bon cas de figure à citer. Au départ, c’est une demande des Marines, qui souhaitent renouveler leur flotte de Harrier vieillissante et à problèmes (c’est l’avion qui s’est le plus crashé aux USA !). A quoi s’ajoute une demande de la Navy, qui voudrait avoir autre chose qu’un SuperHornet mal conçu (regardez-le par en dessous, avec ses pylônes divergeants, vous comprendrez pourquoi) et le dernier étant l’Air Force, qui cherche un remplaçant à son fameux F-16, qu’elle continue à vendre en même temps (aux polonais ou aux marocains).
Très vite, l’idée d’une cellule unique modifiable ou déclinable en trois modèles va faire son chemin :
un modèle STOL (atterrissage et décollage courts) pour porte-avions,
un modèle VTOL (vol vertical) pour les Marines,
et un avion plus conventionnel pour le reste, à savoir l’Air Force.
Logiquement, sa construction ne devrait pas être un problème : c’est loin d’être un "fast mover" : on ne lui demande que Mach 1.5, d’être pourquoi pas "invisible" parce que c’est devenu la mode, et de pouvoir emporter de tout, ou presque. Sur le papier, c’est l’appareil parfait. Aujourd’hui, ça risque fort de se transformer en seconde catastrophe nationale, derrière le F-22.
Comment a-t-on fait pour tout rater avec cet engin, c’est ce qu’il convient d’expliquer.
Le marché prévu était immense en 1990 : on parlait alors de 3500 appareils possibles !!! Aujourd’hui, on n’en est déjà plus à ces chiffres mirifiques, mais la baisse de l’économie mondiale n’explique pas tout. Des clients potentiels désertent déjà le carnet de commandes, lassés des retards accumulés, se tournant vers le Gripen, notamment, chez qui on ne trouve plus que des superlatifs (au Brésil, surtout !).
Histoire d’un échec annoncé, celle de l’avion à tout faire, qui ne sait pas faire grand chose, mais à un prix faramineux.
Le F-35 aurait réussi son premier atterrissage vertical - 29 mars 2010
Le F-35 Ligthning II a réussi son premier atterrissage vertical, a annoncé le constructeur Lockheed Martin, maître d'oeuvre de ce projet de chasseur-bombardier furtif. Cet appareil est destiné à renouveler la flotte de l'armée de l'Air américaine.
L'atterrissage a été réalisé à la base aéronavale de Patuxent River dans le Maryland, dans l'est des Etats-Unis. Le pilote d'essai a réussi à poser l'avion sur une zone de moins de 9 mètres carrés délimitée à l'avance à l'issue d'une descente verticale sur près de 45 mètres ayant duré environ une minute, ajoute Lockheed Martin.
Le ministère de la Défense américain a indiqué début mars que le programme du F-35 coûterait deux fois plus cher que prévu. Chaque appareil est désormais estimé à un coût compris entre 95 et 113 millions de dollars. Le Pentagone a commandé 2.443 exemplaires de ces avions.
The F-35C carrier variant ground-test airframe has been dropped, literally - 11/04/2010
April 9: Lockheed Martin's F-35C Lightning II carrier variant ground-test airframe, CG-01, was dropped literally on March 27 at Vought Aircraft’s facility in Dallas, Texas.
The test is one of 53 planned for CG-01 – for the test, the airframe was dropped 95 inches at 20 feet per second, with an 8.8 degree pitch, two degree roll, and 133 knot wheel speed, simulating a carrier-deck landing. Nearly 500 sensors are monitored, with 2,500 points collected per second.
LockheedMartinVideos — 16 avril 2010 — Bringing short take off and vertical landing to a whole new level. The F-35B Joint Strike Fighter has advanced the technology of Short Take Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL). The F-35 true 5th Generation from every angle.
AF-01 and AF-02 have moved to Edwards AFB in California.
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May 18: F-35A Lightning II AF-01 has returned to flight testing duties at Edwards Air Force Base in California after a series of ground tests and repainting.
US Air Force Test Pilot Lt Colonel Hank ‘Hog’ Griffiths flew with Lockheed Martin Chief Test Pilot Jon Beesley alongside in AF-02 direct from Fort Worth in Texas. At Edwards the F-35s will undergo ground and flight-test activities for propulsion, aerial refuelling, logistical support, weapons integration and flight-envelope expansion. Edwards is now the third permanent test facility for F-35 after Fort Worth and Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland.
The state invests in fighters: cost of 15 billion euros - 19 mai 2010
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The unpleasant news coming from the Afghan front weakening euro mention the decision of the House and Senate defense committees that have approved last April, finally buying from U.S. Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter 131 bombers, F35 .
F-35 : Dutch Parliament wants to cancel first JSF aircraft - 21 mai 2010
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Dutch Lower House wants to cancel the first ordered F-35 aircraft and to stop their participation in the Initial Operational Test and Evaluation stage of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF/F-35). Also the Request for Proposal and complete evaluation of the replacement of the F-16 has to be redone prior to a final decision in 2012, because the price estimates in the Request for Information of 2002 and the Supplemental Request for Information of 2008 as offered by Lockheed Martin are unreliable, due to the outcome of the reports of the US Joint Estimate Team and US GAO in 2009. A proposal by the Labour Party was accepted Thursday night with the support of other parties SP (Socialist Party), Green Left, the right winged PVV (Freedom Party of Geert Wilders), Liberal Democrats D66 and Party for the Animals with a majority of 79 votes against 71 votes.
The decision of the Dutch Parliament means that The Netherlands would cancel the first F-35A aircraft from the LRIP3 batch, ordered in May 2009 with a special clause that the money had to be paid back when the Parliament would take a negative decision about the next aircraft in 2010. Also their will be no contract for a second F-35A aircraft from the LRIP4, the prepayment of longlead items has to paid back and the participation in the Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (MOU signed in May 2008) will be ended.
After the Dutch cabinet felt by the controversial Afghanistan mission, last February, there is a temporary government until next elections in June 2010. In a reaction the Minister of Defence Van Middelkoop said that in his opinion the decision of the Parliament was unacceptable, because the Cabinet had decided any decisions on this controversial subject until the next elections in June 2010. Moreover, in his opinion it is inappropriate that a temporary government should take an irreversible decision. Minister of Defence Van Middelkoop accused the Labour Party of election rhetoric.
However Labour MP Angelien Eijsink noted that based on new information, available since months, about delays, about the Nunn-McCurdy breach, about the delay of the IOT&E by 2 years until 2015, about poor progress in testing it would be irresponsible to continue with the project. Labour MP mentioned that the Parliament was still waiting for the promised, guaranteed price of the LRIP4 plane. Also promised data about the noise level is not available yet, an important issue in a densily populated country like The Netherlands. Next the industrial business case failed by lack of orders, much lower than expected in 2002 and poor international contracts for the F35 aircraft. The Labour Party wants to continue the participation in the F-35 SDD stage, as signed in the 2002 MOU-SDD.
Other parties SP, GreenLeft, D66 and PVV also want to end the SDD participation. In 2002 The Netherlands signed a MOU of a Level 2 SDD participation and invested US$ 800 million in the project. Christian Democratic Party (CDA) and Liberal-conservatives (VVD) and the Christian Union (CU) were seriously irritated by the Labour Party and were prepared to wait until this information would be available.
‘Joint Strike Fighter’ Really 3 Different Jets, Pentagon Says - may 24, 2010
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The idea was to build a single jet that could take off from a runway, roar from an aircraft carrier — or just lift straight up into the sky. Sure, there’d be small differences in the three “variants” of the Joint Strike Fighter. But the common parts would far, far outweigh them — allowing the Defense Department to buy thousands of the planes at tag-sale prices.
At least, that was the plan. And that was what JSF-maker Lockheed Martin promised: three planes sharing 80 percent of their parts. But the Defense Department no longer believes it. An influential Pentagon team now says that the aircraft “being developed by the F-35 program [may] have as little as 25 percent in common,” Inside Defense reports. Production costs once estimated at $59 million per plane today are looking more like $112 million. R&D costs have gone up another 40 percent, lifting the total price to $323 or so billion for 2,443 fighters.
In April, the Pentagon told Congress that “the total price could swell to as much as $388 billion this summer,” Inside Defense notes. A central explanation for the cost hike: ”less airframe commonality than originally envisioned.”
The bad news keeps coming for the F-35 program, the biggest and costliest in Pentagon history. Last week, the House Armed Services Committee said it would only provide the cash for 30 of the 43 jets planned for next fiscal year under certain conditions – some reasonable, others less so. First, the panel wants the Defense Department to speed up the JSF’s slo-mo schedule of test-flights. According to the committee, “Only 3 of the 14 test aircraft planned for the F-35 program have been delivered. Only 10% of the planned test flights last year were flown.” But the panel also wants the Pentagon spend $485 million on an alternate engine for the JSF that no one in the military seems to want or need. As if this program wasn’t complicated and pricey enough already.