Thread: HMAS Canberra damaged in sea trials

Originally Posted by carjunkieanon

From Sept 2013. Vanity Fair on the F-35b.
I have no idea how accurate their reporting is etc, but it's a gloomy read.

Will the F-35, the U.S. Military’s Flaw-Filled, Years-Overdue Joint Strike Fighter, Ever Actually Fly? | Vanity Fair

All that is true, but I like the cut of the new Generals Jib[ vanity fair get it? . OK , sorry] I think the US government has decided enough is enough. They have appointed a hard headed General , he will , hopefully, stop the corruption, [ big call, but that is how I see it, ] from Lockheed. Now, they have to produce the goods, or they don't get paid. And, money talks, with these companies. If Lockheed don't produce, they can forget about any more government contracts, is the message. Big call. Bob

Read Arthur C. Clarke's short story "Superiority" by any chance ? A prescient (sci-fi) warning about the consequences of programs like this Short Story - Superiority - by Arthur C. Clarke

But, ultimately, there is so much invested in this aircraft that it will be made to work and like the F-111 and Collins, it will be capable and useful ... but the cost ...

the f35 is differant to what we are use to seeing as an aircraft ie a fighter plane or a fighter bomber etc the way iam seeing the f35 is basicly as flying weapons platforms using its look down radar to find targets fire the missiles then have the hornets protect it out of there with the superhornets running as the air supority fighter to keep other fighters off the f35's and growlers clearing the way of radar sam sites and and 4th and 5th gen stealth planes (rember the superhornet growler is the only plane to have downed a f22)

at a guess they will be using the flight deck for running uav's

can we build these types of ships yes we can but only in a time of war would it be effective and on time and budget basicly the same as building aircraft here.

eurofighter wont work in australia as in times of war our closest allie doesent operate them so getting replacements and spares is much harder esp when you really do need them, its basicly the same story for all the euro planes its fine to have them but within 3months of war they would effectivly be grounded due to lack of spares or planes, at the end of the day the jsf was selected cause the us wouldent sell the f22 to anyone so the only other gen 5 plane they have is the jsf

Originally Posted by bob10

I think you will find it was caused by the trials team not understanding the limits of the propulsion system, in the first case, and in the second, if you were not involved with the ship, you can not say whether it was finger trouble, or a design fault. Either way, that's what trials are for, but an expensive lesson. Could have been worse. Bob

Many of these problems emanate from things as simple as not reading operations manuals and lack of awareness.
Warranty claims can go on for years with these sorts of vessel systems.
A ship I have recently worked on has had ongoing main engine issues within a diesel electric propulsion system for 4 years. With 37,000 BHP on tap via 6 main engines there is plenty of redundancy that allows the ship to remain mobile.
Looking at the azimuth thrusters on the this ship I would be very suprised if she is not Dynamically positioned capable.
We can and should be building his sort of ship in Australia. But I fear our Govt is hell bent on destruction of every aspect of ship crewing and large scale construction on this Island continent of ours.

Originally Posted by THE BOOGER

While we do have an option on the VSTOL F35 the official reason for the ski jump is so allied nations aircraft can operate with us and use our facilities I haven't given up hope yet but 3 sqns of the VSTOL version is probably more expensive than the 75 we have ordered for the RAAF

Other nations ie the Uk, who will have 2 new carriers, but no planes flying from them for at least 2 years, and more alarming they seem to be stalling a little on Crowsnest. Buying ex RAAF Seakings for spares to keep the AEW Seakings flying a few more years.

What aircraft is covering the AEW requirement on these new ships?

Originally Posted by lyonsy

the f35 is differant to what we are use to seeing as an aircraft ie a fighter plane or a fighter bomber etc the way iam seeing the f35 is basicly as flying weapons platforms using its look down radar to find targets fire the missiles then have the hornets protect it out of there with the superhornets running as the air supority fighter to keep other fighters off the f35's and growlers clearing the way of radar sam sites and and 4th and 5th gen stealth planes (rember the superhornet growler is the only plane to have downed a f22)

at a guess they will be using the flight deck for running uav's

can we build these types of ships yes we can but only in a time of war would it be effective and on time and budget basicly the same as building aircraft here.

eurofighter wont work in australia as in times of war our closest allie doesent operate them so getting replacements and spares is much harder esp when you really do need them, its basicly the same story for all the euro planes its fine to have them but within 3months of war they would effectivly be grounded due to lack of spares or planes, at the end of the day the jsf was selected cause the us wouldent sell the f22 to anyone so the only other gen 5 plane they have is the jsf

In times of war every nation would run out of spares regardless of what they have,it's happened every single time,the British and Americans dropped cement filled practice bombs onto tanks in Iraq as they ran out of real ones.If we had bought cheaper less capable planes we could have more of them,we spend 25 million dollars training RAAF pilots that then leave because they can't get enough flight time because of cost and lack of aircraft,if we had bought 70 or 80 Eurofighters five years ago and then bought another 30 with the money they spent on outdated superhornets we would have a very effective air force with very well trained pilots. Pat

One mans view, Bob


There's No Way The F-35 Will Ever Match The Eurofighter In Aerial Combat | Business Insider

The debate continues, Bob


The Aviationist » Farnborough 2012: "Yesterday we had Raptor salad for lunch" Typhoon pilot said after dogfighting with the F-22 at Red Flag Alaska