f 35 brief
DESCRIPTION
This is a brief about F-35 strike aircraft. Lockheed Martin had stated many things about it, but not many are correct. For details, see inside.TRANSCRIPT
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
Requirements jungle● air superiority● fleet defense● tactical bombing● ground attack / strike● CAS● reconnaissance● air control● intelligence gathering
● CTOL● STOL● CATOBAR
● replaces F-16, AV-8, F-18, A-10, F-117, F-111, A-6, Tornado
● closest foreign counterpart Dassault Rafale
Conflicting requirements● air superiority
– low wing loading– high thrust to weight
ratio– small size– ability to achieve
quick kills
● low-level strike– high wing loading
● tactical bombing– high payload
● stealth– internal missile
carriage– gun doors
Programme mismanagement● LRIP● no competetive prototyping● 30% parts commonality between different versions● cost increases
– 197 million USD F-35A, 237,7 million USD F-35B, 236,8 million USD F-35B >> flyaway costs
Is it really the best multirole aircraft?● Establish important requirements● Compare it with most similar US and foreign
aircraft– F-16– Saab Gripen– Dassault Rafale– Eurofighter Typhoon
F-35 air combat philosophy● maneuverability is irrelevant = depends on radar
missile BVR shots to shoot down opponent– AIM-7
● promised Pk: 0,7● actual Pk: 0,08
– AIM-120● combat Pk: 0,46● ten recorded kills; 4 kills from WVR● targets:
– no sensors– no ECM– not maneuvering
● US had numerical superiority
BVR vs WVR● Vietnam Pk (vs maneuvering targets):
– gun: 28%– IR missile: 15%– BVR missile: 8%
● Deset Storm PK (vs non-maneuvering targets):– gun: 100% (A-10 vs helicopters)– IR missile: 67%– BVR missile: 34%
BVR vs WVR● Pk ratios have stayed the same: radar missile
lethality 1/2 of IR missile lethality; IR missile lethality 1/2 of gun lethality
● Even LPI radars vulnerable to detection and countermeasures
● Result: WVR combat between capable opponents as important as ever
BVR vs WVR● BVR requirements add:
– size– weight– cost– maintenance downtime
● result:– smaller numbers– more vulnerable– less time for pilot training
LPI - frequency hopping
Combat requirements● first look● first shot● first kill● avoid getting bounced● outmaneuver opponent to fire● high cruise speed● outnumber enemy in the air
First look● F-117 VLO● 1 shot down, 1 irrepareably damaged from 1 300
sorties in Kosovo war● flew only at night● F-16 "legacy" aircraft● 1 shot down from 4 500 sorties in Kosovo war● flew both at day and at night● IRST can detect stealth aircraft completely
passively, and at long range; radar gives away position
First look● F-35 assumptions:
– LPI radar cannot be detected– F-35s IRST better than opponent's– F-35s IR signature lower than opponent's
● Reality:– Russians and Europeans have advantage in IRST
technology– F-35s visual and IR signature larger than that of F-
16, Gripen, Rafale and Typhoon– LPI radar can be detected and jammed by modern
EW suites
First look
First shot● stealth requires internal weapons carriage
– gun bay doors cause 0,5 seconds to time between pressing the button and first bullet leaving the gun
– F-35s gun has 0,4 s spin-up time; F-16s 0,5 s, revolver guns 0,05 s
● result: F-35s gun needs almost full second to reach full rate of fire after pilot has pressed the trigger
– IR missile has to be lowered by mechanism before being fired: at least 1 second delay
First shot● radar-guided missiles require 10 - 15 s acquisition
for cooperative target● radar warns enemy and allows it to track and ID
radar-using fighter● radar still has to penetrate any possible jamming● enemy can cue in BVR IR missile or use anti-
radiation missile● unlike F-22, F-35 can use IRST: renders opponent's
radar LO measures meaningless
F-35: bounce● rearward visibility: angle obscured
Maneuverability● Operational/ultimate g limits:
– F-35A: 9 g / 13,5 g– F-35B: 7 g / 10,5 g– F-35C: 7,5 g / 11,3 g
● G limits for 4,5th generation aircraft: 9 g operational, 13,5 g ultimate
– Rafale 9 g / 16,7 g, Gripen 9 g / 13,5 g, F-16 9 g / 13,5 g, Typhoon 9 g / 12,6 g
● Instanteneous g limits for 3rd generation aircraft: 7-8 g operational, 10,5-12 g ultimate
Maneuverability● Sustained g limits:
– F-35A: 4,95 g @ M 0,8 and 4 600 m– F-4E: 5,5 g @ M 0,8 and 3 100 m with 40% fuel
● Wing loading @ 50% fuel, 4 AMRAAM and 2 Sidewinder:
– F-35A: 428 kg/m2, F-35B: 434,2 kg/m2, F-35C: 338 kg/m2
– Rafale C: 276 kg/m2– Gripen C: 287 kg/m2– F-16 C: 392 kg/m2
Maneuverability● Thrust-to-weight ratio @ 50% fuel, 4 AMRAAM
and 2 Sidewinder:– F-35A: 1,07– F-35B: 1,05– F-35C: 0,93– Rafale C: 1,22– Gripen C: 0,95– F-16C: 1,186
Maneuverability● Combat weight:
– 18 270 kg F-35A– 18 541 kg F-35B– 21 009 kg F-35C– 12 629 kg Rafale C– 8 605 kg Gripen C– 10 936 kg F-16C
Speed● internal carriage means that speed is same in combat
and in clean configuration– M 1,6 maximum
● maximum speed in combat configuration: – Rafale M 1,8, Typhoon M 1,8, Gripen M 1,8, F-16 M
1,6● maximum speed in clean configuration:
– Rafale M 2, Typhoon M 2, Gripen M 2, F-16 M 1,8
Combat persistence● measured by fuel fraction
– F-35A: 0,38– F-35B: 0,29– F-35C: 0,36– Rafale C: 0,31– Typhoon: 0,29– Gripen C: 0,27– F-16C: 0,26
Numbers● F-35A: 197 million USD flyaway cost● F-35B: 237,7 million USD flyaway cost● F-35C: 236,8 million USD flyaway cost● likely 36 hours of maintenance per hour in the air (80% of F-22s
maintenance downtime)● force presence: aircraft for equal cost x sortie rate● Rafale C: 88,43 million USD flyaway cost, 8 hours of maint.● Typhoon T3: 130 million USD flyaway cost, 9 hours of maint.● Gripen C: 42,98 million USD flyaway cost, 19 hours of maint.● F-16 C: 68,8 million USD flyaway cost; 19 hours of maint.● all values in FY 2012 USD
Numbers● Aircraft for 1 billion USD:
– F-35 A: 5– F-35 B: 4– F-35 C: 4– F-16 C: 14– Gripen C: 23– Rafale C: 11– Typhoon T3: 7
Numbers● 1 bln USD force sorties per week:
– F-35A: 22– F-35B: 18– F-35C: 18– F-16C: 117– Gripen C: 351– Rafale C: 205– Typhoon T3: 117
Comparision: weapons effectiveness
vs maneuvering targets
vs non-maneuvering targets
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
gunIR missileradar missile
Comparision: bounce
Comparision: gun firing delay
Gun
0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,9 1
F-35F-16Rafale/Gripen
Comparision: maneuverability
Ultimate g limit
Operational g limit
Wing loading
Thrust-to-w eight
Combat w eight
F-35 AF-35 BF-35 CRafale CGripen CF-16 CT3 Typhoon
Comparision: force presence
Sorties per day
Aircraft
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Rafale CGripen CT3 TyphoonF-16CF-35AF-35BF-35C
Conclusion: air combat● F-35 is failure on all fronts
– unlikely to achieve first look or first shot– unable to outmaneuver modern fighter aircraft in
order to gain firing solution– unable to escape if detected– unable to provide required force presence– unable to withstand attrition
Fleet defense● F-35 incapable of fighting modern fighter aircraft or
performing most missions other than ground attack● low sortie rate especially problematic due to limited
number of aircraft carrier can carry● single engine: more vulnerable to corrosion
Tactical bombing● requirements
– ability to attack tactical targets on the ground● only mission F-35 can actually do● still requires cooperation with slower aircraft if there
is danger of unwanted collateral damage
CAS● definition: usage of aircraft against hostile targets
representing possible threat to friendly forces– result: targets attacked are often in close proximity to
friendly forces● F-35 too delicate to survive ground fire and too fact
to find and attack ground targets
Reconnaissance● sensory suite is suitable for scout missions, but it
cannot escape if attacked● low sortie rate and high cost - both per-aircraft and
per-sortie - will make such missions rare and high risk
Forward air control● too fast and high flying for pilot to recognise tactical
targets or telltale signs of hidden enemy forces, and to distinguish between friendly troops, enemy troops and civillians
● same problems cause it to be incapable of assessing the damage done to enemy troops precisely
Written by● Picard578● http://defenseissues.wordpress.com/● 13. 3. 2013.