Latest F-35 Twist

Steyr

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/reuters/2009/11/24/2009-11-24T191618Z_01_N24300896_RTRIDST_0_LOCKHEED-FIGHTER-EXCLUSIVE.html

Reuters
EXCLUSIVE-US to withhold F-35 fighter software codes
11.24.09, 02:16 PM EST
LOCKHEED/FIGHTER (EXCLUSIVE):EXCLUSIVE-US to withhold F-35 fighter software codes

* Britain had sought the code for "operational sovereignty"

* US to set up facility to distribute software upgrades

* Program official--US has accommodated partners' needs


By Jim Wolf

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will keep to itself sensitive software code that controls Lockheed Martin Corp ( LMT - news - people )'s new radar-evading F-35 fighter jet despite requests from co-development partners, a senior Pentagon program official said.

Access to the technology had been publicly sought by Britain, which had threatened to scrub plans to buy as many as 138 F-35s if it were unable to maintain and upgrade its fleet without U.S. involvement.

No U.S. partner is getting the so-called source code, the key to the plane's electronic brains, Jon Schreiber, who heads the program's international affairs, told Reuters in an interview Monday.

"That includes everybody," he said, acknowledging this was not entirely popular among core partners -- Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway.

The single-engine F-35 is in early stages of production. It is designed to escape radar detection and switch quickly between air-to-ground and air-to-air missions while still flying -- processes heavily dependent on its 8 million lines of onboard software code.

Schreiber said the United States had accommodated all of its partners' requirements, providing ways for them to upgrade projected F-35 purchases even without the keys to the software.

"Nobody's happy with it completely. but everybody's satisfied and understands," he said of withholding the code from partners and Israel, which also has sought the technology transfer as part of a possible purchase of up to 75 F-35s.


REPROGRAMMING FACILITY

Instead, the United States plans to set up a "reprogramming facility," probably at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, to further develop F-35-related software and distribute upgrades, Schreiber said.

Software changes will be integrated there "and new operational flight programs will be disseminated out to everybody who's flying the jet," he said.

Representatives of the British defense staff in Washington did not return telephone calls seeking comment. Britain has committed $2 billion to develop the F-35, the most of any U.S. partner.

In March 2006, Paul Drayson, then Britain's minister for defense procurement, told the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee that Britain might quit the program if the United States withheld such things as the software code.

The issue rose to the top. In May 2006, then-President George W. Bush and then-Prime Minister Tony Blair announced that both governments had agreed "that the UK will have the ability to successfully operate, upgrade, employ, and maintain the Joint Strike Fighter such that the UK retains operational sovereignty over the aircraft."

HOLY GRAIL

The source code is "kind of the holy grail" for this, controlling everything from weapons integration to radar to flight dynamics, said Joel Johnson of TEAL Group, an aerospace consultancy in Fairfax, Virginia.

Lockheed Martin said all F-35 partners "recognize the complexity of the highly integrated F-35 software and the program plan to upgrade F-35 capabilities as an operational community."

"This enables the aircraft to remain at the cutting edge of combat capability while allowing the program to meet affordability objectives," John Kent, a company spokesman, said in an emailed statement.

Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon's No. 1 supplier by sales, projects it will sell up to 4,500 F-35s worldwide to replace its F-16 fighter and 12 other types of warplanes for 11 nations initially.

The United States eventually plans to spend roughly $300 billion over the next 25 years to buy a total of 2,443 F-35 models, its costliest arms acquisition.

Competitors include Boeing ( BA - news - people ) Co's F/A-18E/F SuperHornet; the Eurofighter Typhoon, made by a consortium of British, German, Italian and Spanish companies; Saab AB's Gripen; Dassault Aviation SA's Rafale; and Russia's MiG-35 and Sukhoi Su-35. (Reporting by Jim Wolf, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

Copyright 2009 Reuters, Click for Restriction

Captain Chaos

The computer source codes were a deal breaker for the UK and Israel. Most people though that the UK would get at least partial access to the codes so that the jets won't have to be upgraded and modified by the US all the time.

This week the US has offered Israel an F-35I variant with custom systems installed with a decision due in a matter of months in a take it or leave it deal. Like the F-15I and F-16I the US built for Israel and further classified systems were installed by the Israelis aswell.

This is going to be a pain for international customers who want to intergrate their own weapons on the F-35. As it is the US will install the AIM-132 for the UK and Aus. Paveway 4s for the UK but the rest is up in the air. Most Europen customers will most likely want the Meteor installed as an alternative to the AIM-120D.

As is with most EU F-16 operators, they install their own EW software of choice and install non US weapons like the IRIS-T and Penguin missiles.

With this setup the US will know the capability of each nation's F-35s. I'm sure the international partners won't be happy but it's the only way they will get their hands on a 5th gen fighter.

FiSe

Money talks, I'd say, the US strategy is, obviously, not to share the pie with anyone.
Which means, that any money spent on upgrade will end up in the US of A.

Fratton Fred

who exactly is going to provide an enemy worthy of such a plane?

this does sound a little bit like an over specified cold war era plane, being produced as a bit of an ego trip.

Personally I think the UK should bin it's involvement in this and look for a cheaper alternative.

diverdriver

You're right Fred, there is no enemy that deserves that kind of response. It is overspecified. But for the USA it means that they remain on top and have nothing to fear from any other country in terms of sales and potential conflict. Which in all probablity is the truth of the matter.

As they see it, if they share the source codes with anyone. They have to give it to them all. I imagine they also fear that it will leak to China and Russia and indeed places like Iran who are quite advanced technologically.

So much for the special relationship with Britain.

But at the end of the day the aircraft itself will probably never be used in any kind of Air Combat scenario and is probably the last of the manned fighters. Like the F22 and frankly stealth aircraft in general.

This American obsession with security, is I believe at least part of the reason Irish (Republic) born people cannot be aircrew or pilots in the RAF anymore. Bascially due to fact that they cannot receive the highest security clearances needed to operate American equipment. Not just the Irish of course.

Fratton Fred

diverdriver wrote: »

This American obsession with security, is I believe at least part of the reason Irish (Republic) born people cannot be aircrew or pilots in the RAF anymore. Bascially due to fact that they cannot receive the highest security clearances needed to operate American equipment. Not just the Irish of course.

that always makes me smile. Non British nationals can fly an Apache, or drive a nuclear sub, but can't fly a Hawk!!

Dacian

diverdriver wrote: »

You're right Fred, there is no enemy that deserves that kind of response. It is overspecified. But for the USA it means that they remain on top and have nothing to fear from any other country in terms of sales and potential conflict. Which in all probablity is the truth of the matter.

So much for the special relationship with Britain.

I think the 'Special Relationship' may only be 'special' from this side of the pond.

To be all paranoid and such- by keeping the installation US based they keep jobs and/or money at home. And the ability to limit non US weapony on the aircraft is pure economics. "We would love to make the IRIS-T and Meteor integrate into the F-35 electronics suite but it would degrade the blah blah too much to make it a viable combat match...etc...etc"

The problem for the UK is that they have invested so deeply into the program. If they pull out I can't see the US govt letting them buy SuperHornets. That means its a navalised Typhoon or the Rafale for their new carriers. In that case is it really worth it to build the new carriers?

Could it be possible (if a little James Bond/Walter Mitty) that its gives the USA the capability of inhibiting/locking out certain parts of the F-35 capability.
As an example, Iran currently operate F-5s, F-4s, F-14s and KC-135s, all US aircraft. Imagine if the USA had the ability to disable these aircraft before rolling in their strike packages? Mad? Probably. Prudent? Absolutely. Are the Israelis that trustworthy? There are question marks over certain Israeli tech getting into Chinese hands as it is.

Already we can see the US are a bit put out by the European GPS system which stops the US monopoly on GPS navigation. The US is THE superpower in the World and wants to maintain the staus quo.

Coyote

I don't think it's paranoid or Walter Mitty to want the source code. I'm sure the Argentina's did not think they needed the code of the Exocets missiles they bought from the French till the British got the codes to make the missiles useless, How would the Falklands war have gone if the Argentinians had sunk half the British fleet in the first few days?

Your right on the economics but as well as that the US would not want someone to in 5-10 years come along and invent something like a better Air-to-Air missile than the US has and then put it on the same planes as the USAF/NAVY. ie: now US planes are at a disadvantage if it ever came to a fight. control the code control how everyone else can use the plane.