TIME FOR THE U.S. NAVY TO WORRY

The new U.S. Secretary of the Navy isn’t too knowledgeable on the post he is about to take over. One would think a minimum amount of homework would have been done by now. Pretty scary. Industry and the Navy can run rings around this guy via PowerPoint because he doesn’t know, what he doesn’t know.

Q + A

In answering written questions on such major subjects as the Navy’s budget, readiness of the fleet and the state of shipbuilding program, Ray Mabus, above , repeatedly pleaded ignorance and promised careful study: 

Q. In your opinion, does the Department of the Navy’s projected budget have adequate resources … ?

A. I have not had an opportunity to study in depth the department’s budget requests.

Q. What is your assessment of the current risk to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program schedule during its system development and demonstration phase?

A. I am not aware of the status of risk to the JSF program.

Q. What level of funding do you think the Navy will need to execute (its 30-year shipbuilding plan) … ?

A. I have not yet examined in detail the level of funding the Navy will need to execute the 30-year shipbuilding plan.

FEWER JSF BUYS ‘TOTAL SPECULATION’

Via “Inside Defense”…

Davis: Analyst Estimates of Fewer JSF Buys are ‘Total Speculation’

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program office has not had a single request to look at how fewer Air Force buys would affect the program, according to the program’s executive officer. Analyst estimates made last week of Air Force plans to buy fewer JSF than originally planned are “total speculation,” he added.

LINKS OF INTEREST 30-4-2009

US audit: Costs soar for Iraqi military training

Australia boosts military commitment to Afghanistan

GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb II Test Flight

Gordon Brown Launches Another Assault on Britain’s Defenses

Russia to cut 130,000 military personnel

KC-135 REFUELS KC-30A

A French KC-135 refuels an Australian KC-30A. This is what made the KC-10 so powerful in Operation El Dorado Canyon. A tanker that can be topped off by another tanker is a good thing.

H/T The Dew Line

RUSSIA – CHINA RELATIONS

Sit through the whole video. A few statements of interest…

BOEING-DANISH MOU FOR SUPER HORNET SUPPORT

Via Boeing-

The Boeing Company and civil defense and aerospace company Danish Aerotech today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that outlines opportunities for Danish Aerotech to provide select F/A-18E/F Super Hornet logistics support capabilities.

If the Royal Danish Air Force names the Super Hornet as its New Combat Aircraft, Boeing and Danish Aerotech could partner in a Performance Based Logistics (PBL) program for long-term support of the strike fighter aircraft and other platforms.

“This MOU is of high value to our company,” said Danish Aerotech CEO Petersen.

The Danes recently deferred their fighter decision. They have also received a brief (PDF) on the Super Hornet. Boeing has a good way of getting their nose into a deal. This could get interesting whenever Denmark decides to look at fighter replacement again .

If the Royal Danish Air Force names the Super Hornet as its New Combat Aircraft, Boeing and Danish Aerotech could partner in a Performance Based Logistics (PBL) program for long-term support of the strike fighter aircraft and other platforms.

H/T NOSI

CSI – USAF

How the USAF committed fratricide on it’s own fighter force. These images give you a good idea of the crime scene. The murderers got away and are still on the loose.

Charts via Dr. Rebecca Grant

GOOD BYE JOHN YOUNG (updated)

One of the most confused procurement guys leaves the Pentagon.

John Young was pretty clueless on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. One minute it is good, later he brings up all the faults because it was never prototyped, a few months later it is good again. Given the money involved in the program, little details like this are important. 

He also shot himself in the foot on the F-22 some time back. This is where he stated how good the F-35 was and then listed problems with the F-22. Because a good portion of the F-35 design was already locked down, F-22 problems were,… F-35 problems. 

Adios el confused one. 

FATIGUED PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

The first static test airframe for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program known as AG-1 has arrived in the U.K. for a 15 month test.

“BAE Systems is responsible for carrying out a large percentage of the structural and fatigue testing required to qualify all three of the F-35 variants. Some testing has been carried out on smaller components, but this will be among the first of the full airframe tests to be carried out.”

This is interesting in that the U.S. Secretary of Defense Mr. Gates, the head of the U.S. Air Force General Schwartz , various partner country military leaders and many others have hung their hat on the F-35. The claims of low risk and a healthy program are at this point with around two percent of the flight testing done,  unproven. 

What is just as worrying is that the major fatigue testing on the airframe has not been carried out yet. There are all the calls to have the taxpayer fund more and more Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) aircraft. The term “mistake jets” is real because manufacture of a product without having fatigue testing done is a large risk. 

With a 15 month test for AG-1 and any other time needed to look at the data and come up with production redesign and fix, the timeframe doesn’t look good. With the U.S. Marine Corps. Initial Operating Capability (IOC) of 2012, things don’t add up. Marines and other test pilots will already be flying aircraft that have not had the benefit of a full airframe fatigue test. 

The risk is stacking up and it will be interesting to see what problems result from this cart before the horse program. 

TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY

Haven’t seen this since I was a kid. Pretty subtle stuff but interesting for what it is….