F-35B reaches IOC

The first F-35B squadron has been declared operational. This theoretically clears it for use in combat, although it will be awhile before that happens.

The Pentagon was notified that VMFA-121 out of MCAS Yuma has 10 aircraft that have the 2B software that are ready and cleared for combat. This comes after an operational test aboard the USS Wasp involving six aircraft, and an ORI at the base. Both were passed (not with flying colors, but passed).

The next major target date is August 2016, IOC for the A model. The 34th Fighter Squadron, Blue Rams have been stood up a Hill AFB, which will serve as a Depot facility as well. Their first aircraft arrive in September.

www.flightglobal.com...

a reply to: Zaphod58

Hey I have a quick question about the 35/22 and I figure it doesn't require its own thread so If you don't mind il just ask it here.

I was reading through Ben rich's memoir from skunkworks and there was a little passage about "non provocative fighters"

Are the f35 and f22 considered non provocative? If not what would make them change their minds about selling that kind of tech? Is it really non provacative and we can't even fathom the real winner of the sky? Or is a simple software change between foreign fighters and our own enough to keep them non provacative?

a reply to: Zaphod58

What's "a while"?

Months? They're just working up getting ready for deployment, correct? Or is there a bit more to it?

Glad to see this. Appears my reservations may have been wrong...

a reply to: mindseye1609

It's interesting, because the F-35 has the more interesting tech on it, but they're selling them overseas, even baselining them for individual nations. The F-22 was absolutely Not For Sale. There was a lot of interest in it by a couple of close allies, but it was repeatedly shot down.

Some of the decisions made by the Pentaweenies can only be solved by picking random words out of books and putting them into a sentence, while standing on your head until you almost black out, then reading the sentence in a mirror.

a reply to: seagull

The first scheduled deployment is to Japan in 2017. Most aircraft introduced in the last 20-30 years went 10+ before seeing combat with the US. Our allies have put them into combat sooner.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Right... Asking for logical moves in the aerospace industry sure seems like a lot to ask lol...

I just read today about how there was only 4 people involved in OKing and overseeing the U2 and then it was 8 on the blackbird and now they have like 2700 people in bureaucracy to deal with lolololol! No logic there.

a reply to: mindseye1609

In the 50s and 60s, Kelley Johnson would tell the Pentagon what they needed, usually after he had at least a mockup built.

It was 18 months from drawing to flying for the U-2. The -71 took a little longer because they had issues with the titanium. They would use grease pencil to draw the cut lines. It turns out that grease pencil is incredibly corrosive to titanium, so it would eat into the metal before they could cut, rendering it useless.

Nice to see the B's getting to this point. Especially since it was the B's that were so far behind initially.

a reply to: Sammamishman

I'll just leave this here.

As officials will point out, the F-35 programme has not missed any major targets since its last rebaselining in 2010, and the declaration on the last day of July makes good on the Marine Corps’ pledge to meet its objective IOC date.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Ya I read they had all kinds of issues with the Ti. Thanks Russia!

Kelley Johnson sure sounds like my kind of guy lol. A boss you probably hate if you don't have faith in him but man he sure got some stuff done. I wonder what he would have to say about today.. Probably "I tried to tell you!"

Do you think that because they are actively getting selling the f35 it might be classified as "non provacative" and we just don't know it?

a reply to: mindseye1609

It could very well be, and they're just keeping it quiet.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: mindseye1609

Some of the decisions made by the Pentaweenies can only be solved by picking random words out of books and putting them into a sentence, while standing on your head until you almost black out, then reading the sentence in a mirror.

^^That is worthy of being in a signature.
OT they will hit combat well ahead of the time frame most fighters wait and I believe it will be deployed before '17. The jump jet model will replace the AV-8 for CAS and for the first time give the agile Marine Expeditionary Strike Group SEAD/DEAD and EW abilities that it relied on the Navy or USAF for. Combined with it's stand off weaponry and deep strike abilities this is the logical first to fight of the variants.

originally posted by: Sammamishman
Nice to see the B's getting to this point. Especially since it was the B's that were so far behind initially.

The B's were the reason everything else got lagged too...

a reply to: howmuch4another

Feel free if you want it for a sig.

My money is on the B being the baseline for pretty much everything from IOC to combat. Like you said, it makes the most sense.

a reply to: Zaphod58

They seemed sooooooo excited about look down shoot down in the 60-80s what happened there? Using the blackbird as a interceptor seemed to me like the seed that would start a whole new tree of tech that we've never seen publicly (well I haven't anyway) it seems to me that we are just building faster/better versions of what we already have instead of dropping something new.

I also know it's not as simple as "just dropping something new" but idk I just feel like the f22 is just a super p51 ya know? Where's that epic LEAP in performance at? Did Kelley just set to high of a bar back in the day?

a reply to: mindseye1609

Pulse doppler radar. It's still the main radar in use today.

Kelley set the bar insanely high, but the major leaps are in the black world where the average person won't ever hear of them.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Until the new memoirs come out in 40 years that is! Any other good memoirs out there from guys in the black world? i love reading about the creative problem solving environment these early Cowboys of aerospace got to enjoy.

a reply to: mindseye1609

If you have Facebook the Roadrunners have a page that's fun. They don't post on it much, but what they do post is crazy. They just posted a bunch of MiGs in AF markings at Area 51 the other day.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Il look into it, I think you told me about this before too in reference to the Anne Scott Area 51 book, something about they didn't like it and they had a Facebook, il check it out this time for sure.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Those were pretty cool to see. I don't think I had seen those before. It's rare to get to see what's in any of those hangers at Groom, even if it is one red hat's.