Combat Aircraft Magazine

So US defense secretary Robert Gates decided to withold a Lockheed Martin $614m performance-related pay check because F-35 testing is failing to meet targets. Gen Heinz, the military program head, has been booted out, and the whole project could be on the brink of triggering a Nunn-McCurdy review because of cost overruns. Wow! That is just about as bad a news story as the F-35 test program could have dreaded at it entered 2010. So, the system design and development (SDD) phase is in disarray and JSF is losing friends in high places. Even the US Navy is voicing concerns over the sheer cost of F-35 - is it becoming unaffordable even for the US Navy!!!???
So Lockheed Martin has had a shake up as well? No. The manufacturer has got to start delivering on its promises for F-35? It tells everyone that everything about F-35 is great and that it will all be fine. The jury is out. Things are going to have to change in the test program - that’s for sure. Three F-35Bs are now at Pax River and the first full vertical landing could be coming soon. It’s progress, but the test program has a mountain to climb. It’s going to be 12 hour days for these guys for quite some time ahead. Manufacturing issues has meant that of the 12 SDD aircraft slated to be in the air by the end of 2009 - just four are currently flying.
No one ever said that developing a new fighter was easy. It’s reassuring to see that the US powers that be are not being lulled into a 24/7 good news story - that could easily turn into a nightmare!

Wow! It’s always a memorable moment when we see a new fighter aircraft for the first time. PAK FA’s appearance to the world yesterday is clearly very significant.
OK, chances are that it might not achieve much more than the MiG 1.42, but if, just if, it gets backing from an international customer it could progress into a significant fighter. Russia has taken years over the Su-34, and only a handful are in service (4 at last count). It’s a good bet that PAK FA development would be shortlived if it had to rely on home orders, but if India or another customer was prepared to get heavily involved there could be an interesting time ahead for the fighter. This is very probably Russia’s last chance saloon to stay in the fighter business - so will PAK FA be able to progress?
It looks very much like a mix of YF-22, with an F-35 cockpit (compromised by a big metal frame!!), 1.42 fins, plus a lot of metal in its construction (not a lot of evidence of composites judging by the images), and it’s unlikely that its avionics are too dissimilar to an Su-35.
But if I was a senior USAF fighter commander I’d be screaming at those holding the purse strings: ’see, I told you we didn’t order enough F-22s!’
Much more to come on PAK FA in the next issue of the magazine.
Have a good weekend everyone!
Jamie

We are delighted to be running our world-exclusive new images of the USAF’s RQ-170 Sentinel stealthy UAV in our February issue. The shots came to us from one of our well-trusted sources and they are the best photos of this clandestine aircraft, dubbed ‘the best of Kandahar’ following its initial sightings at the Afghan operating base.
The new photos reveal some interesting facts. The outer wing design of the Sentinel appears very similar to that of the F-117A. It also features main wheels that look like those from the F-15 - the same wheels were used on the F-117. It also features retractable blade radar reflectors - the same as the F-117. So one can’t help but look at the overall design and stealthy characteristics of the Sentinel and conclude that it may not be quite as new as we initially thought. It may even be F-117 era!!

You can draw your own conclusions, but this is a fascinating story - and one which has surely yet to yield most of its secrets.
Enjoy the magazine!
Jamie

Good morning,

Our new online opinion report from Jon Lake has caused something of a reaction from some readers.
We invite views and opinions from authors and appreciate that not everyone will always agree with these. These opinion pieces do not represent the views of the editor or the publishers and are not statements from Combat Aircraft magazine.
However, we invite authors to send us their views and will endeavour to post them on the website if they are relevant.
Thanks to you all for your interest!
Jamie

OK, so here’s were most fighter pilots and enthusiasts would like to be this week…
Al Dhafra air base in the UAE. A fighter weapons meet at Al Dhafra has been nicely timed with the Dubai air show - and deployed here are no less than six F-22 Raptors, six RAF Eurofighter Typhoons, six French AF Rafales and six Pakistan AF F7s!
The bad news is that unless you are an invited military guest or participant, your chances of getting anywhere near Al Dhafra are zero!

Good morning everyone,

Our December issue has just hit the shops here in the UK and Europe, and it has finished printing in the US and will be on sale here from December 1st. I am afraid it still takes a while to get to all the stores around the US! But we are working to speed things up a little.
The December issue is the last magazine with the current ‘Combat Aircraft’ logo - as of the Jan 2010 issue we re-launch with an exciting new look. New logo, updated news pages and some new regular features.
We are also inviting feedback from our readers, so stay tuned on how to do this.
In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy the latest issue.
Cheers!
Jamie

Hi everyone,

I am just back from a few weeks on the road for the magazine. Keep your eyes on issue 10.7 December for more….
So, a question, just what does ‘flyable storage’ mean for the F-117s that are now laid up at Tonopah? Does that mean that they are still flying I hear you ask? mmm, could be?
My trip sadly didn’t take in this exciting location but I think ‘flyable storage’ is an interesting potential for the occasional shakedown flight.
Oh it would be good to see the black jets back in the air.

Good morning everyone,
I am really sorry it’s been a while since the last posting here. The step up to getting Combat Aircraft out monthly proved to be a very busy time.
But the first monthly magazine is out on sale and it’s selling like hot cakes! For those of our readers in the USA - you’ve got a European fighter on the cover - a Typhoon.
In fact, Typhoon seems to be constantly in the news at the moment. The RAF has just deployed the aircraft to the Falkland Islands for the firtst time. More on that in the next issue - December - out from 2 October.
I am due to deploy myself next week. I am going on the road to report for Combat Aircraft - more of that in the December issue.
Bye for now
Jamie

The announcement from the UK defence secretary Bob Ainsworth on 7 July that the first UK defence review in a decade is planned for 2010 comes as welcome news for senior defence officers. The severe defence cutbacks facing the UK are mirrored in the US and politicians need to decide how they will support armed forces and decide how they will be committed around the world. UK armed forces are being asked to carry out more and more taskings, with a constantly dwindling set of resources.
The Royal Air Force’s front line fighter squadrons are in disarray. Underfunded, under resourced and facing a crisis. In a formal question to the UK Secretary of State for Defence on Monday 6 July, Nick Harvey asked: how many squadrons of the Tranche 3 Eurofighter are due to be deployed in the UK armed forces? Defence minister Bill Rammell replied: ‘On current plans, once the RAF’s Typhoon fleet is at full strength it will consist of seven squadrons; five front line squadrons supported by an Operational Evaluation Unit and an Operational Conversion Unit. The distribution of Tranche 3 aircraft across these squadrons has yet to be decided’.
This is the first official acknowledgement of a cut to five from seven the number of front line RAF Typhoon squadrons. On current projections it is calculated that the RAF will receive around 160 Typhoons. Undoubtedly, the Tornado GR4 Force will start to be reduced, and with F-35B procurement for the UK looking increasingly shaky due to its cost, could the RAF be resigned to dwindling to its lowest operational strength for years?
Arguably, it could be time to ditch the expensive, long term programs and opt for a cheaper, quicker solution. The RAF still needs numbers of aircraft. Even a Typhoon can’t be in two places at once!! The old and expensive Tornado GR4s have performed amazingly and have a proud record as a fabulous aircraft, but they are old and serviceability is a massive issue. The Harrier is also under threat of retirement despite an amazing performance in Afghanistan. Maybe it’s time to ditch F-35 plans and go for a cheaper option to give the RAF the number of combat aircraft it needs. Anyone for Gripen NG or Super Hornet?

Eurofighter introduced its new CEO Enzo Casolini at Paris, having taken over from the Aloysius Rauen, who left the company in April. Mr Casolini said at the company’s press breakfast that he expected Tranche 3A negotiations to be finalised and the contract signed before the summer break. He also said that the end of F-22 production in the US ‘opens a door for Eurofighter’ in the Japanese FX competition. He said that if the US had been able to offer F-22 then ‘we would of had no chance’, however now Eurofighter looks well placed to replace the JASDF F-4s. Mr Casolini also indicated that he had no objection to government to government deals for current partner customers to sell off some of its Eurofighters on order. This is a far more liberal approach from the company and he is keen to ‘improve export activity’.