BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

In news that will surely have repercussions to the JSF program, the United States Navy has chosen to cut back their F-35C orders until 2020 by as much as a third.  Instead, the USN will pursue more stand-off weapons (ie: ALCMs).  The news can be seen here:   http://aviationweek.com/defense/f-35cs-cut-back-us-navy-invests-standoff-weapons "The Navy’s budget priorities reflect the views of Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert. In June 2012, shortly after he was appointed as CNO, Greenert published an article in the Naval Institute’s Proceedings magazine that downplayed the importance of advanced platforms, including stealth aircraft, in favor of “payloads” including standoff weapons." In order for the F-35 to meet its production goals over the next few years, those USN sales will have to be made up some other way. Otherwise, its price will remain high, resulting in the "death spiral" or, at least, a "zombie shuffle". 

Given that the F-35's engine will not fit in a C-2 Greyhound , the USN may need to revisit this. Just sayin'.... No hook...  No catapult...  No problem.

What?  You were expecting it to crash?  Explode?  Plunge into the watery depths? Carrier trials would simply not have happened if simulated tests performed on land did not pass with flying colors.  Infamously, the F-35C's initial land trials were a bit of a bust .  This forced a tailhook redesign. There it is. The newer tailhook is more heavily dampened and boasts a sharper "hook".  This addresses two of the F-35C's three major issues with its tailhook .  Earlier models were unable to snag the arresting wires reliably enough to be deemed carrier-worthy. As it was, oscillations created by the rear landing gear wheels created a bouncing effect that made it difficult catch the wire.  This is exacerbated by the short distance between the landing gear's rear wheels and a tail hook that was too dull. The fix? This does not mean that the F-35C is out of the woods yet.  The aircraft needs to not only demonstrate the capability to r...

Thanks for the link Canuck Fighter! http://www.cnas.org/sites/default/files/publications-pdf/CNAS_CarrierAirWing_white.pdf For those who missed it, commenter Canuck Fighter  posted a like to this excellent white paper regarding the United States Navy and the decision it will have to make regarding its carrier air wing. For those of you not willing to delve into the report, here is the general gist of the USN's options. Option 1:  Damn the torpedoes...  Full speed (slowly) ahead .  The F-35 is already late, and may not see wide use from American super carriers until at least 2025, possibly even later. By then, the USN's current legacy Hornet fleet will be worn out and obsolete.  Without the JSF waiting in the wings, fighter capability will be severely reduced as the USN's current Super Hornet fleet will be tasked with pulling double-duty. This does have the option of being the "easiest" route to follow, as well as reducing spending in the short...