Swiss Defense Forces choose the F-35: $1 Trillion Fighter, the Air Force Ferrari

The Swiss Government selected the F-35A in June of 2021, marking the beginning of their critical transition to 5th Generation airpower, F35.com announced.

The Swiss Federal Council announced Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II is the aircraft selected from its New Fighter Aircraft competition.

“We are honored to be selected by Switzerland and look forward to partnering with the Swiss government, public, air force and industry to deliver and sustain the F-35 aircraft,” said Bridget Lauderdale, Lockheed Martin’s vice president and general manager of the F-35 Program. “With the selection, Switzerland will become the 15th nation to join the F-35 program of record, joining several European nations in further strengthening global airpower and security.”

The Swiss Air Force will receive F-35A aircraft, a sustainment solution tailored to Swiss autonomy requirements, and a comprehensive training program.

The F-35 selection will deliver economic and technical advantages to the nation for decades to come. Swiss industry will have the opportunity to participate in research and development, production and sustainment opportunities that will extend their capabilities into the future. As a new participant in the F-35 program, Switzerland will benefit from Lockheed Martin’s dedication to autonomy and sovereignty in integrating indigenous solutions.

To date, the F-35 operates from 21 bases worldwide, with nine nations operating F-35s on their home soil. There are more than 655 F-35s in service today, with more than 1,380 pilots and 10,670 maintainers trained on the aircraft. 

The F-35A quickly gets to where it needs to be and is nimble enough to handle the diverse Swiss terrain. It is interoperable with a number of other systems, which will include the ground-based air defense system that Switzerland is also in the process of selecting.

Combine the jet’s performance with an array of sensors that allow the pilot to maintain a complete picture of the threat environment and you have a potent solution for Switzerland’s national security requirements.

Swiss industry already plays a role in building the F-35, with six suppliers providing components to the aircraft. A 5th Generation aircraft requires a whole new approach to design, manufacturing and sustainment.

Lockheed Martin’s selection will result in valuable offset opportunities and will also allow industry to benefit from the uplift in skills and technology that working on a high-tech program demands.

F-35 Cost

The F-35 delivers unique 5th Generation capabilities and technology at the price of older 4th Generation aircraft. The F-35’s ongoing modernization efforts will ensure it outpaces advancing threats and continues to widen the gap over existing aircraft. With 15 participants and counting, the modernization efforts are shared across the growing F-35 enterprise and provide unmatched affordability. As we develop and deliver upgraded capabilities, our goal is to maintain or reduce costs across production and sustainment.

DOD Laser-Focused on Driving Down Costs of F-35, General Says

MAY 14, 2021 | BY DAVID VERGUN, DOD NEWS

There are about 630 F-35 Lightning IIs in the field today in nine nations, including the U.S., the program executive officer for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office said. Five of those nations have deployed the F-35 in combat.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Eric T. Fick spoke yesterday at the McAleese FY2022 Defense Programs conference.

“The F-35 delivers truly game-changing capabilities today. With its combination of stealth, sensor fusion and interoperability, the F-35 is truly the quarterback of the joint force,” he said.

The U.S. and its allies and partners who use the F-35 don’t have unlimited funds, so Fick said that the services are “laser-focused” on driving down costs, not just in development and production, but in sustainment, where 80% of the money is spent.

To save on cost, the technicians are increasing the amount of automated testing on the plane’s software so that faulty software isn’t pushed into the field, or even into the flight test, he said.

Using the joint simulation environment for initial operational test and evaluation, is also being employed to reduce the cost to develop and deliver software ahead of open-air flight tests, he said. 

In sustainment for the U.S. Air Force, the cost per flight hour for the F-35 went down from $37,000 to $33,300 in the course of just one year from 2019 to 2020, he said, mentioning that’s a lot of progress.

The services are also looking to increase the use of advanced simulators to reduce the cost of actually flying.

Driving down the costs of spare parts, maintenance and repair is the next big focus, he said.

For years the money hog F-35 fighter has been controversial in its performance. Recent speculation that it may be history is not right on says AF Chief Gen. Brown

“Countering claims that the US Air Force could buy a clean-sheet design fighter to replace the F-16 means the F-35 project has failed; US Air Force Chief of Staff General Charles Q. Brown, Jr on Thursday said the F-35 was the ‘cornerstone’ of the US tactical air capability. “You don’t drive your Ferrari to work every day, you only drive it on Sundays. This is our ‘high end’ [fighter], we want to make sure we don’t use it all for the low-end fight” Air Force Technology reported.

This week, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing dedicated its inaugural F-35 simulator building aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, January 21. This marks the next step in streamlining the training process of the fifth-generation joint strike fighter, which has been recognized as one of the most advanced aircraft in military history.

In addition to providing a much more efficient means of producing highly trained pilots to operate the fifth-generation stealth fighter, this simulator will allow 3rd MAW aviators to train, rehearse, and refine their integrated abilities alongside the Navy and other Marine Corps allies operating across the globe.

Airforce Magazine reported similar predictions, while stating that a study will decide whether the program slows down.
The TacAir study Planned “will simply look at what systems will be needed to complement it, he said. The age of most of the fighter force—averaging 29 years—compels USAF to “look ahead … 10, 15 years in the future,” according to General Brown. The study will develop “where we think we need to go, and how we get from where we are today to … the future.

Maj. Nicholas “JAKAL” Rallo, an instructor pilot with the 944th Fighter Wing, became the first Luke Air Force Base F-35 Lightning II pilot to attain 1,000 F-35 flying hours here, February 22, 2021.

Maj. Rallo is an Active Guard Reserve member with the 944th Operations Group Detachment 2 and is integrated with the 63rd Fighter Squadron through the Total Force Enterprise that keeps Luke’s mission going.  

“I am honored to be a part of Det 2 and to work with our partners in the 63rd Fighter Squadron,” said Rallo.  “I am lucky to have such a great team to work with and to have been one of the first pilots at Luke to transition to the F-35.”

After 10 years as a fighter pilot flying the F-16C and a brief time flying the MC-12W, Rallo got the opportunity to transition to the F-35 in 2015.

Rallo’s achievement also makes him only the second operational F-35 pilot in the Air Force Reserve and the fourth in the entire Air Force to reach 1,000 hours in this aircraft.

“I am humbled to be in the first group of F-35 pilots to achieve this milestone,” said Rallo.  “I love being a member of the Air Force Reserve and to be able to call Arizona my home.”

His 16 years of active duty and Reserve experience has given him valuable knowledge that he leverages to train incoming fighter pilots. 

“I love the job I do training the Air Force’s best fighter pilots,” Rallo shared.  “Our Total Force Integration makes us unstoppable and I believe that achieving big goals is just a matter of time, persistence, focus and hard work.”

29 April 2019

F-35 JOINT STRIKE FIGHTER: GOA

Action Needed to Improve Reliability and Prepare for Modernization Efforts.

DOD plans to spend over $270 billion to buy more than 2,000 F-35 aircraft over the next 26 years.

In this year’s review, among other things, we found the F-35 program:

Made slow, consistent progress on reliability and maintainability. But, it has not met 4 of 8 targets, which suggests the aircraft will be less reliable and more costly to maintain.

Will start a modernization effort—now estimated at $10.5 billion—without a complete business case and while still developing key technologies. This increases the risk of cost increases and delays.

We made 5 recommendations, including that the program clarify and improve its reliability plans.

F-35 Aircraft

25 April 2019

F-35 AIRCRAFT SUSTAINMENT: GOA

DOD Needs to Address Substantial Supply Chain Challenges

DOD needs to address supply chain issues with the F-35 advanced fighter jet, the country’s most expensive weapons system with projected operating costs of more than $1 trillion.

The U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy share a pool of spare parts with partners around the world. But shortages, repair backlogs, and mismatched parts are keeping F-35s on the ground. For example, F-35 aircraft were unable to fly nearly 30% of the time from May through November 2018 because they didn’t have the parts they needed.

While DOD has taken steps to address these challenges and others, we’ve made 8 recommendations that address these specific issues.

F-35 Lightning II aircraft at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida

F-35 JOINT STRIKE FIGHTER:

Development Is Nearly Complete, but Deficiencies Found in Testing Need to Be Resolved [Reissued with Revisions Jun. 13, 2018] GOA

Since the beginning, the F-35s Have had a sorted history with several groundings.

Feb 2013

F-35s grounded as precaution after crack found in engine blade

By Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service / Published February 22, 2013