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F35 - Money well spent.

Did they put it into the recent Syria operation against Iran after the F-16 was hit the other week I wonder?...

The IDF-AF have apparently stated that the F-16I was lost when the crew failed to deploy countermeasures against an SA-5 shot despite warnings from their on-board systems; it's therefore been categorised as 'professional failing' (for external consumption at least!).

Either way, I doubt that incident had much influence on what was probably a planned gentle introduction to ops for their F-35Is. I suspect they've simply fed the jets into some relatively unchallenging tasks, possibly without them even having to leave Israeli airspace or employ weapons initially. I also get the impression that Israel is quite keen to use the type's capabilities in a PSYOPS role given the rumours of F-35I forays into Iran that appeared on media outlets which have previously been associated with government sponsored 'fake news.'

...How many F-35 is Israel planning to buy?

They've got plans for at least 75 x F-35Is (a sub-variant of the A with Israeli specific systems) and have also discussed procurement of some Bs for operation from short and/or austere locations.

Regards,
MM
 
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Looking at pics of F35s I see what looks like masking tape on the fuselage. Can someone explain what it is?

f35.jpg
 
Now that the F35 is well on its way to operational capability, is there a timeline for retiring the F15 & F16?
Only with the failure to retire the A10, and the Navy's decision to run the F18 alongside the -c, I wonder if there'll be the political will to get rid of them, or whether the Americans will end up supporting more and more types rather than less. Until they fall out of the sky a anyway.
 
Now that the F35 is well on its way to operational capability, is there a timeline for retiring the F15 & F16?
Only with the failure to retire the A10, and the Navy's decision to run the F18 alongside the -c, I wonder if there'll be the political will to get rid of them, or whether the Americans will end up supporting more and more types rather than less. Until they fall out of the sky a anyway.
Which country are you talking about? I don't know what Israel's plans are, but outside of them I don't know of any country which is replacing F-15s with F-35s.

Out of service dates for F-16s and F-18s keep moving to the right due to delays in deliveries of F-35s and the reducing of the rate at which new F-35s are purchased. Presently, the US intends to be buying F-35s out to 2044.
F-35 Program Costs Jump to $406.5 Billion in Latest Estimate
The U.S. Air Force reduced its maximum annual rate of aircraft purchases to 60 per year from 80, a move which extended the planned procurements by six additional years from fiscal 2038 to fiscal 2044, he said.

Since that is for the US air force, they will presumably be replacing F-16s.

According to this source: USAF Looks To Retire The F-15C Eagle And Replace It With Upgraded F-16s
As of last year the US may be replacing some of their F-15s with F-16s.
The summary of these exchanges is that the USAF is seriously considering axing the F-15C/D fleet entirely, if it’s not outright planning to do so already. The plan does not include the F-15E Strike Eagle.

This is apparently driven by cost.
In the F-15C/D's place, the USAF wants to put upgraded F-16C/Ds sporting their own, smaller AESA radars. The generals at the hearing stated that the plan is a tough choice that would lead to fewer types of aircraft to support overall, thus freeing up funds for other priorities. The service could make the final decision as early as this year for the 2018 fiscal year budget, or more likely it could inserted the plans into the next budget cycle.

The F-16 will be retired some time around 2048. USAF To Keep Upgraded F-16s Till 2048 As Fate Of F-15C In Doubt
The project would give each of the modified jets approximately 4,000 extra flight hours, extending the aircraft's total life to 12,000 flight hours, keeping them combat ready through at least 2048.

So the plan in the US appears to be to keep their F-16s for a while yet, with F-35 production extending to 2044 and F-16 retirement completing in 2048.

As for the F-15s, they may get binned some time within the next five years in order to save money (the US defence budget is really feeling the squeeze from expensive new programs), and replaced by upgraded F-16s. Some of the newer F-15s may be kept, but on the other hand that goes against the plans to save money by retiring the entire type.

Since we are talking about decades here, plans of course could change several times in that period. It sounds though like the F-15 may be headed for the chopping block and the F-16 may be around for a while yet. I expect that the US will waffle back and forth on that decision over the next few years, but the logic of retiring the F-15 entirely looks pretty compelling. It may (arguably) be "better" than the F-16, but that still wouldn't make it the "best" the US had. Replacing the F-16s with F-15s doesn't look realistic in terms of numbers. So in order to reduce the number of types in service to save money, binning the F-15 sounds the logical choice.

Countries which are being offered the F-15 may have to wonder if that is a good decision over the long run from the perspective of support and upgrades.
 
Which country are you talking about? I don't know what Israel's plans are, but outside of them I don't know of any country which is replacing F-15s with F-35s.

Out of service dates for F-16s and F-18s keep moving to the right due to delays in deliveries of F-35s and the reducing of the rate at which new F-35s are purchased. Presently, the US intends to be buying F-35s out to 2044.
F-35 Program Costs Jump to $406.5 Billion in Latest Estimate


Since that is for the US air force, they will presumably be replacing F-16s.

According to this source: USAF Looks To Retire The F-15C Eagle And Replace It With Upgraded F-16s
As of last year the US may be replacing some of their F-15s with F-16s.


This is apparently driven by cost.


The F-16 will be retired some time around 2048. USAF To Keep Upgraded F-16s Till 2048 As Fate Of F-15C In Doubt


So the plan in the US appears to be to keep their F-16s for a while yet, with F-35 production extending to 2044 and F-16 retirement completing in 2048.

As for the F-15s, they may get binned some time within the next five years in order to save money (the US defence budget is really feeling the squeeze from expensive new programs), and replaced by upgraded F-16s. Some of the newer F-15s may be kept, but on the other hand that goes against the plans to save money by retiring the entire type.

Since we are talking about decades here, plans of course could change several times in that period. It sounds though like the F-15 may be headed for the chopping block and the F-16 may be around for a while yet. I expect that the US will waffle back and forth on that decision over the next few years, but the logic of retiring the F-15 entirely looks pretty compelling. It may (arguably) be "better" than the F-16, but that still wouldn't make it the "best" the US had. Replacing the F-16s with F-15s doesn't look realistic in terms of numbers. So in order to reduce the number of types in service to save money, binning the F-15 sounds the logical choice.

Countries which are being offered the F-15 may have to wonder if that is a good decision over the long run from the perspective of support and upgrades.
They're not going to be binning f-15E models any time soon and the C models have a while yet, much better option as arsenal ships and with conformal tanks can hang around a while.
 
Looking at pics of F35s I see what looks like masking tape on the fuselage. Can someone explain what it is?

View attachment 335595

It appears to be additional Radar Absorbant Material (RAM) coating applied to those areas which require regular access (eg POL and engines), are used routinely (eg the pilot access ladder panel), operate in the air (eg the weapon bay doors), or which are subject to particular stress (eg leading edges).
8538887041_8aaa721439_k-small.jpg

f35c-28.jpg

Similar effects are seen on the F-22...
maxresdefault.jpg

...although it’s less evident when fully finished...
Lockheed+Martin+F-22+Raptor+twin-engine+fifth-generation+supermaneuverable+fighter+aircraft+stealth+technology+United+States+Air+Force+A+B+C+D+%25288%2529.jpg

However, the F-35’s RAM is superior to that of earlier generation LO platforms, not least as it’s designed for use from austere bases and carriers.

Now that the F35 is well on its way to operational capability, is there a timeline for retiring the F15 & F16?
Only with the failure to retire the A10, and the Navy's decision to run the F18 alongside the -c, I wonder if there'll be the political will to get rid of them, or whether the Americans will end up supporting more and more types rather than less. Until they fall out of the sky a anyway.

Firstly, there was no ‘failure’ to retire the A-10 as they never wanted to get rid of it completely in the first place. Rather, the USAF needed to phase out one aircraft type during the Obama budget restrictions and the A-10 was the obvious choice. Now that Trump has eased the purse strings, they can afford to keep some A-10Cs in service.

In terms of the F-15, I would expect to see the F-15E around in USAF service until at least 2040; the same goes for the F-16C/D. The F-15C/D’s future is less clear. Although th USAF are making noises about retiring it by 2025, it’s a LOT more capable than the Viper in the air-air role. However, the biggest complicating factor is that it’s widely used by ANG units which means it’s not just the USAF which has a vote.

Finally, the USN always intended to operate the FA-18E/F and EA-18G alongside the F-35C.

Regards,
MM
 
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Whilst the F-16 is cheaper than the F-15, it's also somewhat less capable in several key aspects, especially combat radius, top speed and weapons load. The USAF, from what I understand, intend to fly them until sometime around 2040.
 
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