L'Italia acquista i primi 3 F-35

[Guest EC2277]

Dai, non mi dirai che credi a quella panzana dell'Espresso... sono anni ormai che questo fogliaccio da addosso all'F35... notizia di seconda o terza mano tra l'altro, è già un po' di volte che riciccia fuori...

…

Più che altro volevo mettere in evidenza l'atteggiamento del giornalettista ed infatti non sapevo dove pubblicare tale notizia: se qui o ne "La tragicomica rassegna stampa…"

[Martin Venator]

Mi sembra una minchiata, ma la posto lo stesso.

Dal Telegraph.

[h=1]Britain 'should consider scrapping F-35 stealth fighter'[/h][h=2]A senior US Air Force officer says Britain's new stealth jet may be no better than existing aircraft[/h]

Britain's long-delayed £70 million stealth fighter may need to be cancelled because of its poor performance, according to an analysis by a senior American air force officer.The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter being built for British and US forces is based on outdated ideas of air warfare, it is claimed. The aircraft could be unable to evade enemy radar and be too expensive for long campaigns.

The critique in the US Air Force’s own journal concludes that the new fighter may even have “substantially less performance” than some existing aircraft.

Britain is preparing to buy at least 48 of the Lockheed Martin aircraft to replace its scrapped Harrier jump jets; the US military is expected to order more than 2,400.

The £235 billion programme is the most expensive weapons system in history at a time when defence budgets on both sides of the Atlantic are being cut.

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The analysis in the Air and Space Power Journal states: “Even if funding were unlimited, reasons might still exist for terminating the F-35.

“Specifically, its performance has not met initial requirements, its payload is low, its range is short, and espionage efforts by the People’s Republic of China may have compromised the aircraft long in advance of its introduction.”

Advances in Russian and Chinese radar defences mean it is not clear the stealth technology will still work, the analysis warns.

“These facts make the risk calculation involved with prioritizing stealth over performance, range, and weapons load out inherently suspect - and the F-35 might well be the first modern fighter to have substantially less performance than its predecessors.”

The author, Col Michael Pietrucha, suggests the F-35 programme should be put on hold and the US Air Force should instead look at a mix of fighters for the future.

If America pulled out of the programme, Britain would have to follow, analysts said.

Col Pietrucha told The Sunday Telegraph: “All fighter programmes have developed problems. This one is particularly troubling, not necessarily because the aircraft is inherently bad, but because … they are being bought before they have been proven. They have not been tested outside a computer simulation.”

Britain originally said it would buy 138 of the fighters, but has now committed itself to only 48 of the jump jet variant, spread between the RAF and Navy. The first are due to enter service in 2018.

Edward Hunt, a senior aerospace analyst at IHS Jane’s, said the F-35’s performance was the subject of widespread debate in military aviation circles.

“It’s very difficult to peel back what’s being said because lots of people have an axe to grind,” he said.

“The whole F-35 programme hinges on US orders, so any significant cuts … would have significant knock-on effects for partner nations.”

Elizabeth Quintana, senior research fellow for air power at the Royal United Services Institute, said there was a debate to be had about whether it was wise to rely exclusively on a fleet of high-end stealth fighters when a mix of high-end and cheaper, light attack or remotely piloted aircraft could give more options for a range of future battlefields.

The Ministry of Defence defended the F-35 as the “most advanced combat jet in the world with unprecedented stealth capability as well as state of the art sensors and weapons”.

A spokeswoman said: “The aircraft has been specifically designed to be updated throughout its lifetime so it can benefit from new technology to counter emerging threats and keep ahead of our enemies.”

Britain 'should consider scrapping F-35 stealth fighter' - Telegraph

PS: propongo di dedicare il topic genericamente allo F-35.

[Guest EC2277]

Approvo la proposta ed aggiungo un'interessante intervista al Generale Preziosa, rilasciata il 10/5/2013; dovete aprire il collegamento per vedere il video.

Il generale Pasquale Preziosa: "Non possiamo rinunciare agli F35" | tiscali.notizie

Aggiungo anche quest'articolo che suggerisce un maggior coinvolgimento di Finmeccanica nel progetto F-35.

Finmeccanica-LM Team Works On Italian F-35 Net-centric Technology

May. 22, 2014 By TOM KINGTON

ROME — As the political battle rumbles in Italy over whether to cut the purchase of F-35 joint strike fighters, the head of the Italian Air Force has claimed Italy’s Finmeccanica and Lockheed Martin will work together on network-centric technology.

Gen. Pasquale Preziosa said on May 13 that the two firms had signed an agreement three days earlier covering netcentric warfare systems for Italy’s 90 planned JSFs.

A source knowledgeable of the talks said the Italian government was behind the initiative. “The Italian government wants to launch a study and Finmeccanica and Lockheed Martin have signed a deal under which they would collaborate,” he said.

Cash for any consequent work would come from Italy, he said.

A second source added that any deal would help set up the JSF as a node in an Italian military network through data fusion. The details, he added, were still being worked out and more information would likely be made available at the Farnborough International Airshow in the UK in July.

Preziosa’s announcement comes as Italian industry shows a distinct lack of enthusiasm for the JSF program due to a perceived lack of workshare and technology sharing.

Giuseppe Giordo, CEO of Alenia Aermacchi, the Finmeccanica unit building wing boxes for the aircraft, said on May 13 that it was “important” that Italy was signed up to the program, “which represents the next 20 years of aviation.”

But, he added, “We can either assure ourselves of a significant engineering presence on the JSF or risk having few qualified engineers [on the program]. I will be satisfied when we have engineering capacity [that can be used] for other programs.”

Italy’s work on the Eurofighter program, he added, had allowed it to develop technologies that it is now using in its work on the civil B787 program, which guarantees jobs in the south of Italy. Among those technologies is composite material work.

Giordo’s comments, made at a Rome conference next to Preziosa, followed those of outgoing Finmeccanica CEO Alessandro Pansa, who told the Italian Parliament in September that “Finmeccanica will not build its future as an operator of avant-garde technology by supplying parts of large aircraft.”

The relationship between Italian industry and US counterparts has also been hit by US decisions in recent years to cancel its buy of the Italian AW101 helicopter and to halt its purchase of the Italian C-27J tactical transport aircraft. The Italian military has seen the Medium Extended Air Defense System grind to a halt after the US pulled out of the Italian-German-US program, while Air Force officials have been irritated by the US refusal to allow Italy to arm its Predator and Reaper UAVs.

Finmeccanica unit Selex ES — which would likely handle the netcentric work under discussion — has so far obtained little work on the JSF; Alenia Aermacchi’s work on wings is distinct from cutting-edge electronics work.

Preziosa’s comments also come in the wake of a growing political battle over whether to keep, cut or even scrap the program.

The most vocal critic of the JSF is comedian-turned-politician Beppe Grillo, whose party has called the aircraft “useless.” Grillo made a surprise visit on May 14 to the final assembly and check-out line that Italy is building at its Cameri Air Base in northern Italy.

Grillo’s visit comes as his popularity rises to around 25 percent ahead of May 25 elections to the European Parliament, which do not affect the Italian government, but are seen as testing the popularity of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, whose Democratic Party is polling about 34 percent.

Renzi has suggested Italy’s purchase of 90 aircraft would be reduced after he took office in March.

On May 6, members of the Democratic Party sitting on a parliamentary defense commission produced a report on Italian defense that called for spending on the JSF program to be halved. A preliminary version of the report had called for the total purchases of JSFs to be cut from 90 to 45 aircraft, although those numbers were missing in the final report, which was approved by a vote taken in the commission. The report will not have the weight of law unless it is approved by the two houses of Parliament.

Emboldened by a recent law that hands them greater authority over procurement, members of Parliament are seeking to have the final word on JSF purchases. The government has meanwhile announced the production of a new white paper on defense — drawn up in part by the military — which will set out strategy, and consequently have a bearing on procurement.

Asked to comment on the moves in parliament to halve JSF purchases, Preziosa suggested he saw the white paper having more clout, stating, “The Ministry of Defense has said that the white paper will analyze threats and look at how to satisfy ambitions. All will have the possibility of giving evidence.”

Alenia has already seen its workload on wingboxes reduced when Italy cut its planned purchase of aircraft from 131 to 90, and CEO Giordo cautioned that the firm’s work could be cut again if Italy cut its order again.

“We risk having no industrial return,” he said.

The Rome conference was held by the Istituto Affari Internazionali think tank, which argues in a new report that the Italian Air Force must order the JSF to replace aging Tornadoes, AMX and AV-8 aircraft.

Finmeccanica-LM Team Works On Italian F-35 Net-centric Technology | Defense News | defensenews.com

[nubironaSW]

Nel frattempo gli svizzeri han detto NO ai Gripen...

[shadow_line]

Nel frattempo gli svizzeri han detto NO ai Gripen...

Loro non lasciano che sia qualche funzionario statale con manie di grandezza e da "grande" potenza regionale a buttare soldi in progetti senza senso

ripeto, io gli F35 non li pago, se li paghino i funzionari statali che hanno deciso di comprarli con i soldi dei loro stipendi..

[Giò]

Purtroppo i miei riscontri confermano che F35 è soprattutto un regalone agli Stati Uniti,

Che poi siamo obbligati a farlo come lo siamo stati a dargli i piloti del Cermis è un altro paio di maniche.

[stev66]

D'altra parte, altri aerei con quelle caratteristiche sul mercato non ce ne sono.

Quindi o F 35 o niente . F 16 block 60, EFA block III ( che non esiste, ricordiamolo ) Gripen e Rafale non sono alternative possibili e credibili e dubito che Putin ci dia il Mig 35 ( che almeno sulla carta è un gradino sotto )

possiamo continuare con Tornado od AMX, certo. ma ormai come obsolescenza tecnologica e fatica della cellula si stanno affiancando al nostro amato cavallo di battaglia

[JackSEWing]

Loro non lasciano che sia qualche funzionario statale con manie di grandezza e da "grande" potenza regionale a buttare soldi in progetti senza senso

ripeto, io gli F35 non li pago, se li paghino i funzionari statali che hanno deciso di comprarli con i soldi dei loro stipendi..

tanto ci pensano quei poveracci sfigati dei loro vicini (noi e i francesi) a garantirgli la protezione dei cieli... come nel caso del dirottamento dell'Ethiopian Airlines

[shadow_line]

tanto ci pensano quei poveracci sfigati dei loro vicini (noi e i francesi) a garantirgli la protezione dei cieli... come nel caso del dirottamento dell'Ethiopian Airlines

Basta qualche Typhoon di cui si doveva fare anche una versione piena da attacco al suolo, il tutto come deterrente geopolitico (e non a montare ali F35 per gli americani)

per il resto inutile pensare che un paese come l'italia si possa trovare in una situazione tale da dover usare cacciabombardieri stealth (se non ovviamente per la protezione del pilota), idem per la francia, germania o chiunque altro

oggi esiste di fatto un solo esercito ed è quello US, l'unico che può realmente affrontare situazioni complesse contro chi eventualmente, a suo rischio e pericolo, decida di metterglisi contro

[Guest EC2277]

Loro non lasciano che sia qualche funzionario statale con manie di grandezza e da "grande" potenza regionale a buttare soldi in progetti senza senso

ripeto, io gli F35 non li pago, se li paghino i funzionari statali che hanno deciso di comprarli con i soldi dei loro stipendi..

Allora smetti di pagare le tasse e comincia anche ad evadere l'IVA; più difficile sarà non pagare le tasse sull'acqua, sulla luce e sul gas.

Aggiungo che è un po' difficile acquistare un Typhoon avente delle effettive capacità di attacco al suolo, quando non esiste ancora tale aereo, non si sa quando arriverà e non si sa di preciso quanto saranno sviluppate tali capacità.

Modificato 28 Maggio 2014 da EC2277