Critics will no doubt question the wisdom of spending nearly $400 billion to
develop and produce an aircraft that, years before it enters service,
already needs an upgrade to all of its major components and systems.
USAF Plans for Radical F-35 Upgrade Reveal Obsolescence
(Source: DefenseAerospace.com; published April 8, 2015)
By Giovanni de Briganti
http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articles-view/feature/5/162520/usaf-plans-for-radical-upgrade-reveal-f_35-obsolescence.html

PARIS --- US Air Force plans to replace the F-35 fighter’s avionics, radar
and engines are an implicit admission that the current aircraft is already
obsolete and that, despite a unit cost of over $250 million, it cannot match
the latest foreign fighters coming into service.

This is the first time a customer acknowledges that the obsolescence of the
F-35’s sensors has degraded the aircraft’s still unproven nominal
capabilities to the point that a radical upgrade is necessary, more than a
year before it enters service.

The upgrade plans were revealed by Major General Jeffrey Harrigian, the USAF’s
F-35 program chief, in an April 7 Reuters interview.

"We are already considering and thinking through what are some of the
technologies that will be part of the F-35," Reuters reported Harrigian as
saying. "This is not the time to rest on your laurels." Reuters added that
“Harrigian gave few details but said potential upgrades could include new
avionics systems, radar, laser weapons and a new more fuel-efficient
engine,” and quoted him as saying "I don't think we would take anything off
the table at this point."

$400 billion and still needs upgrades

In reality, Harrigian’s statements mean there will be little left of the
F-35 that is now being procured under Low-Rate Initial Production contracts
once its engine, avionics and radar are replaced by new systems.

Critics will no doubt question the wisdom of spending nearly $400 billion to
develop and produce an aircraft that, years before it enters service,
already needs an upgrade to all of its major components and systems.

The need for upgrades at this early stage completely also undermines the
many claims of the F-35’s alleged across-the-board superiority made by the
US military services, by foreign governments justifying their purchase, by
manufacturer Lockheed Martin and by program officials at the F-35 Joint
Program Office.

These are now shown to be little more than an officially-sanctioned
marketing spiel, intended to cover up the aircraft’s well-documented
deficiencies, which its backers nonetheless steadfastly continue to deny.

What do foreign buyers know?

It is debatable whether foreign partners and customers, for example, would
have committed to spending billions of dollars on the F-35 if they had known
they would have to pay for a costly upgrade to achieve the capabilities they
were promised.

It also raises the issue of who will pay for the upgrades, given that the
aircraft’s engine costs about $15 million, and that new avionics and radar
are likely to add as much again, plus their development and installation
costs.

The F-35 -- and its components -- was designed in the 1990s, its development
contract was awarded in 2001 and it is due to reach Initial Operational
Capability (IOC) with the US Air Force in mid-2016 – 15 years after contract
award. USAF plans call for the F-35 to reach Full Operational Capability
(FOC) around 2021 or 2022 – 20 years after award of the development
contract.

No deviation from current plans

The most remarkable aspect of this interview is that, despite conceding that
“the Air Force was already looking at follow-on capabilities for the F-35,
given rapid technology development by potential adversaries,” Harrigian
remains unperturbed, and confirms that the F-35’s Initial Operational
Capability is still planned for August or September 2016.

However, he is “keeping close tabs on key items required to meet the target
date,” Reuters reported, adding that “Those issues include software
development, modification of existing jets to incorporate design changes,
further work on a complex automated logistics system called ALIS and
ensuring a sufficient number of technicians are trained to service the jet.”

"There's a lot of work to be done,” Harrigian said “but from where we sit,
we're on the right glide path to IOC.”

-ends-