02 Agustus 2017

Next Eight RAAF F-35As on Track for 2018 Delivery

02 Agustus 2017


AU-3, the third F-35A for RAAF (photo : Joe Hockey)

Australia’s next eight F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters are in production at prime contractor Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth final assembly plant ahead of delivery to the Commonwealth in 2018.

Australia is acquiring 72 F-35As to replace the RAAF’s F/A-18 ‘classic’ Hornets, the first two of which, known as AU-1 and AU-2, were handed over in late 2014 and have since been based at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona as part of the F-35 International Pilot Training Center – a brief visit to Australia for the Avalon Airshow earlier this year aside.

AU-1 and -2 are scheduled to be joined at Luke AFB by aircraft AU-3 through AU-10 in 2018.

“Matter of fact, talking to our program people, there is a chance we might actually deliver the first of those airplanes late this year,” Steve Over, Lockheed Martin’s director of F-35 international business development, told media in Canberra on Monday.

“The contract commitment is to do it in first quarter [of 2018].”

Then in December 2018 two F-35s are due to be delivered permanently to Australia, to begin Australian-specific operational test and evaluation.


First two of RAAF F-35A (photo : Aus DoD)


F-35A AU-3 was inspected on the Fort Worth production line by Australian ambassador to the US Joe Hockey in May, and recently had its vertical tails installed, becoming the first Australian F-35 to feature vertical tails built by Melbourne’s Marand.

Aircraft AU-3 through -10 are eight of the 90 F-35s currently being built under low-rate initial production (LRIP) lot 10, while a further eight RAAF F-35As will be built under LRIP 11. The next F-35 production batch will be for a total 141 F-35s – Over said the term “low-rate” is now something of a “misnomer” given the quantities involved – with initial funds for LRIP 11 released under two ‘undefinitised contract actions’ signed by the JSF Program Office (JPO) with Lockheed Martin earlier in July.

When final LRIP 11 contracts are signed by the end of the year, Over said Lockheed Martin expects the unit price of an F-35A to be “significantly below” the US$94.6 million “aggregate negotiated” price for an A-model built under LRIP 10.

“The production ramp up is here,” said Over. “And that’s reflected by the production numbers in lot 10 and lot 11.”


LRIP 11 aircraft will be delivered in 2019.

See full article ADBR

14 komentar:

  1. mantep om!

    kalo bner harganya dibawah $100jt,lebih baek nabung beli ginian utk lanjutan program MEF, program EF mendatang.

    setelah 2030 keatas, setelah antrean berkurang, guwe yakin pesawat gen 5 ini boleh dimiliki oleh sekutu amrik ring dua kyk kita haha!πŸ˜†πŸ˜†πŸ˜†πŸ›«πŸ›«πŸ›«

    BalasHapus
    Balasan
    1. F16 bro. pesawat ini pernah kalah ama F16. Catet!!

      Hapus
    2. setelah itu 21-1.
      gak usah catet om,

      streaming aja😚
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHe6bD5vSl8

      Hapus
  2. Indon AKAN BELI F-36! Wakakakaka

    BalasHapus
    Balasan
    1. Gak usah menghina lon,ber cermin diri sana,sudahkah sukhoi malon tuh boleh terbang

      Hapus
    2. F18 "classic" nya di hibahin ke Malon aja, menerima sedekah kok...Lagian Malon LG seneng modif yg vintage2...Nanti namanya jadi horny vintage custom hehehe

      Hapus
    3. Malon tak de Wang buat beli pesawat.. Wang dah habis buat Rosmah kah kah kah

      Hapus
    4. Komentar ini telah dihapus oleh pengarang.

      Hapus
    5. aduh yg satu ini lupa diumpanin pisang, nyok ditangkep bang ipul domdomπŸ˜‚

      🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌

      Hapus
  3. lebih stealth jet pejuang malaysie lar....jet pejuang ausie ade enjin...punyer malaysie tak de enjin

    BalasHapus
  4. Balasan
    1. What about the f35 C version Ben?

      Hapus
    2. Only the US navy ooerates the f35c. No country in the world will buy that varient. It is designed for use on aircraft carriers. When i say aircraft carrier for the f35c i am referring to only the US navy. US navy carriers have catapult system and they are the only ones in the world that operate it onboard an aircraft carrier. F35c is designed to withstand the mass force of taking off from the catapult system as well as landing while encountering the strong deceleration of the fighter when getting caught by the tail hook cables when landing. F35c has a stronger structure for carrier ops and wheels designed for catapult systems. So only america uses it.

      Hapus
  5. KFX mana ya?? ditipu lagi sm barat??

    BalasHapus