The Air Force is “tracking very well” toward declaring the F-35A combat ready in August 2016, but the first operational squadron will fly jets with a rudimentary version of the aircraft’s final software, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, chief of F-35 integration, said May 21.
The Air Force plans to declare the F-35A battle ready on Aug. 1, 2016. The first operational unit will have at least 12 F-35As and as many as 14, Harrigian said at a meeting hosted by the Air Force Association outside Washington, D.C. The first jet that will deliver to the initial operational squadron at Hill AFB, Utah, is on the assembly line at Lockheed Martin’s [LMT] manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, Texas.
“We think we are on a good track to achieve that,” Harrigian said. “IOC (initial operational capability) is just a pit stop. It is not where we are going with this jet. It is just a quick stop as we lean toward full operational capability.”
Still, Harrigian acknowledged that “there are going to be some deficiencies” with the F-35’s mission capabilities when initially delivered with the 3i software iteration.
Air Force F-35As will operate with the same 2B iteration software loaded on the Marine Corps’ F-35Bs when they go operational in July. The difference is the Air Force jets will run on a faster processor that the Marines will eventually install on their F-35s.
For that reason, the Air Force F-35s will have the same operational limitations as the Marine Corps variants when they are initially declared combat ready. Harrigian said the F-35 will initially be capable of “basic” close air support, air interdiction and anti-air defense missions.
The first batch of operational F-35As will be able to internally carry the AIM-120C advanced medium-range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM), the 2,000-pound GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and the GBU-12 Paveway 500-pound bomb. It will not be capable of carrying external loads.
“The important point to highlight is, yes, you have limited weapons at this point, but this is just a pit stop en route to the full warfighting capability,” Harrigian said. “We believe, as we look at the array of missions, this is a good starting point.”
The F-35A is the only one of the three JSF variants with an internal 25mm cannon, but it will not be operational at IOC, which was never intended, Harrigian said. The F-35B and F-35C both will have the option of carrying a belly-mounted 25mm cannon pod once they are operating on the final 3F software iteration. Also with 3F software come the full deployment capability of the AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile, the small-diameter bomb (SDB) II and eventually the Joint Standoff Weapon, which is under development.
Even when the final 3F software is uploaded to the aircraft, there are concerns that some of that iteration’s promised capability won’t be available, Harrigian said. Some capstone F-35 capabilities like data fusion, radar and sensor interoperability with the F-22 Raptor and fourth-generation fighters and weapon compatibility may not become available until later block upgrades of the aircraft, he said. A critical design review of the Block 4 upgrade is scheduled for December, when JPO (Joint Orogram Office) officials will hash out what capabilities they need when.
“We’re working closely with the JPO and industry to figure out why can’t we fix this now and what will it take?” Harrigian said. “Is it time? Is it money? What resources are required now to fix something that could possibly slip into Block 4?”
“I think it’s important that we also start to look beyond 3F,” Harrigian said. “Ultimately, the goal is to continue to modernize our systems to make sure we stay ahead of the threat,” he said.
A major hurdle the Air Force must clear before it can declare IOC is finding and training enough F-35 maintenance personnel to support an operational fleet. The service’s original plan was to retire the A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft and transition maintenance airmen from that legacy aircraft to the F-35. That plan has been approved by both Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh and Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, but has met with stiff resistance in Congress where the A-10 has powerful political support.
“We’re basically tracking this person-by-person to make sure we’ve got enough people out there for IOC,” he said.
“The plan to get to IOC is solid. We understand that,” he said. “To move beyond IOC, we have some work to do to sort out through accessions, what’s the right level we have to have in our fourth-gen maintenance fleet and then any other retirements that Congress might allow us would primarily be the areas we would harvest folks from.”
Where the Air Force will find F-35 maintainers ultimately is in Congress’ hands. Retirement of the A-10, and the freeing up of hundreds of support personnel, hinges on language in the National Defense Authorization Act, which is being debated on Capitol Hill, he said.