By Amaani Lyle
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Mar. 6, 2014 – Progress remains steady in the
F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter’s operational testing, reprogramming,
fueling, and stand-up training, the F-35 program executive officer told an
audience at Aviation Week’s Defense Technologies and Requirements Conference
here March 4.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher C. Bogdan said software
development is a key factor as the program progresses.
Software is, by its very nature, difficult to develop, the
general said, especially when adding to it the complexities of multiplatform
fusion, one of the main modification goals for the aircraft.
Even the smallest change to the software can have a big
effect, Bogdan said, so repeated testing is required to ensure any software
modification works properly.
Interim capability currently allows the F-35s to survey the
battle space, absorb information and give the department a clear picture from
an individual perspective, the general said. Meanwhile, he added, the software
development aims to ensure not only that two jets can assess and fuse the information,
but also that multiple systems can share and process the data -- systems such
as F-22 Raptor fighters, Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft, B-2
bombers, satellites and ground stations.
Bogdan explained that finishing interim capability as
quickly as possible with the resources at hand will help the program move to
the next development phase. So far, he said, airframe and engine production
schedules are stable and predictable, measuring milestones in days and weeks,
not months and years.
“It’s more important to know when those lines will come out
so we can get them to those bases and start that stand-up,” the general said.
The developmental test program is 50 percent complete for 28
F-35s, Bogdan said. At this time last year, he added, the program office
delivered about 36 airplanes, with plans this year to deliver 36 to 38.
“In the next two years, that’ll go up to about 43, and then
up into the mid-60s and then three years from now, over a hundred,” the general
said. Most of the 58 operational F-35s in the field are in use for training at
Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Operational units are at Marine Corps Air Station
Yuma, Ariz.; Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.; and Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
Affordability continues to be critical, Bogdan said, as
officials devise plans to drive costs down in research, development, technology
and engineering without requesting any further funds from Congress or the
Defense Department. “The enterprise simply cannot tolerate us asking for more
money,” he added.
Cost-cutting ideas include an integrated master schedule to
synchronize and manage tasks, assess risks assessments, and determine critical
paths, the general said. He cited examples including the Marine Corps’ initial
operational capability, scheduled for fight testing completion in October and
for developmental testing completion in November 2015.
“The [integrated master schedule] has shown us the critical
path to both of those events is not software, … but modifications to the
airplanes,” Bogdan said. This requires balancing aircraft availability with the
need to take jets off the line for modifications.
Progress in a program as complicated as the F-35 requires
discipline in the business model, Bogdan said.
“We simply cannot afford to have to do things twice on this
program,” he told the conference audience. “We don’t have the time, and we
don’t have the money. We know what our commitments are, and we’re going to do
everything we can to deliver them.”
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