FAQ
FIGHTER JETS
THE F-35 LIGHTNING II
July 16, 2010
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/07/16/f-f35-faq.html
WHAT IS THE F-35 LIGHTNING II?
It is a stealth fighter aircraft with one engine and one seat. In March, U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said "it will become the backbone of U.S. air combat for the next generation."
The F-35 is scheduled to go into service in 2011.
Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor.
WHAT WILL IT DO?
The F-35 is designed for tactical bombing, aerial warfare and close air support for ground forces.
It will have a 25-millimetre gun, air-to-ground and air-to-air missiles plus a variety of bombs
including, for U.S. planes, the B-61 nuclear bomb.
The F-35 can fly at over 2,000 km/h.
WHAT ARE THE MODELS?
There are three variants:
F-35A: conventional take off and landing
F-35B: short take off, vertical landing
F-35C: for aircraft carriers
Each variant is about 15.4 metres in length. The F-35A and F-35B have a 10.7-metre wingspan while the F-35C's measures 13.1 metres.
(The larger wingspan means the F-35C can land at a lower speed, cover a wider range and carry a larger payload. Only the U.S. will deploy this model.)
WHAT IS THE JSF?
Joint Strike Fighter is the program to develop and acquire fighter jets to replace a wide range of existing aircraft currently in use by the U.S. and some of it allies. The program began in 1996.
"The focus of the program is affordability," the JSF website says. By using a mutual design for the three variants, with 80 per cent of the parts in common, the hope is to keep costs down.
But expert Winslow Wheeler of the Center for Defense Information in the U.S. told PBS,
"The history of multi-role fighters, even for single services, is terrible. They do nothing well. ...
The F-35 never will be able to fulfil its mission,
because it is too heavy to fight other aircraft in the air,
but too fast, thin-skinned and lightly armed to support troops on the ground."
WHAT COUNTRIES ARE PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROGRAM?
The nine partners, in order of their financial contribution, are the U.S., Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Turkey, Australia, Norway and Denmark. Israel and Singapore are also part of the program as "security co-operative participants."
Despite the partnership, the U.S. will foot the bill for about 90 per cent of the development costs.
The nine major partners are expected to buy about 3,100 F-35s over the next 25 years.
WHAT DOES IT COST?
The JSF is widely reported to be the most expensive military program ever — and cost are rising.
One of the problems, according to Gates, in March, is "overly rosy forecasts by the program office itself."
In June estimates of the cost of the American program rose again, to $382 billion US for 2,457 aircraft.
That averages $155.5 million US per plane.
In Canada, the Department of National Defence reports it will spend about $9 billion for its 65 F-35s.
That works out to about $138.5 million per aircraft.
The cost could double when a maintenance contract is added.
Bill Sweetman of Aviation Week, the author of two books on the F-35, wrote in March that the rising costs of the fighter jet could be a "death spiral."
As he says,
"The rates and total buy are going to decline and the unit costs will rise. Production capacity will be scaled back."
WHAT ARE THE F-35'S COMPETITORS?
Boeing is pushing the F-15 Silent Eagle and the Super Hornet, and the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Dassault Rafale are available in Europe.
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INSIDE POLITIC BLOG
QUESTION OF THE DAY
DO YOU SUPPORT THE GOVERNMENT'S DECISION TO SPEND $9 BILLION ON 65 NEW F-35 FIGHTER JETS?
16 juillet 2010
http://www.cbc.ca/politics/insidepolitics/2010/07/question-of-the-day-152.html
140 commentaires