The F-35 Self Destruct Switch

The US is worried China or Russia may land its hands on an F-35, since Japan just lost one, albeit, at the bottom of the Ocean. Last night an F-35 disappeared and the hunt is on to find it! All those billions are at risk. How about installing a dead man's switch and det cord throughout its body to scatter its pieces throughout land, sea or air? A simple co-action between ejector chair and airframe would put to ease an unsurvivable airframe windfall for adversaries looking for pieces no bigger than a postage stamp at the bottom of some sea. If a heart stops longer than five seconds then boom. If the ejector seat is engaged then five seconds later boom. It's a no-fly zone and a no recovery issue. The F-35 is in pieces on land or in the sea. If you have a heartbeat no problem for the pilot. If it comes down on the wrong side of the line or just comes down, then Boom! Please eject before coming down in order to survive. An F-35 falling into the wrong hands is not worth the salvage or recovery but the pilot is always worth the recovery no matter what. Install a dead man's destruction switch after the pilot ceases in the F-35. Safeguards could be installed in order to protect those around the aircraft during secure positioning. Other words the det cord would not be engaged to explode unless several conditions exist at during the F-35's existence. Parked, serviced, or in operation, it could not explode ever unless certain conditions are met. The ejection seat is exploded out as intended, impact or water condition enveloping the airframe is detected, then boom! Ejection or death is needed (required) in order to save "life" from the boom when going off the grid! 

If the pilot has stopped ceasing in the cockpit then Boom! Sorry China, Russia et al. You get F-35 pieces to play with. Anyways, secrets are part of our national defense.

The Boeing Recovery?

After the 2nd 737 fell from grace killing another 150 of its passenger Boeing has a track record of pausing, then reflecting on its complicit participation, and then moving aggressively as it loses ground with the calamity.

The FAA is seeking tall grass on this matter as it biffed its responsibility by allowing Boeing to watch its own hen coop in the front yard of aviation.

The truth of the matter will follow a long investigation but it now appears the thing Boeing installed to outsmart flawed human pilots has now exposed a flaw in human thinking of automating everything it doesn't think pilots can do. The system itself failed and pilots fly at a disadvantaged. Pilots have little recourse to fly out of harm's way when a sensor fails and software regurgitates what humans who never piloted an aircraft code a solution. The MCAS system or anti-stall routine doesn't take into account false equipment readings as it only looks to override hapless aviation pilots for a condition that were not trained for. A what-if scenario,  may not involve tailwinds driving an aircraft over its intended airspeed thus starting a cascading chain of events putting the 737 into a nose dive for preventing stalls. Then there is a what-if when a sensor fails because equipment sometimes are flawed but the operator is not aware of a broken part. Boeing really needs to address this critical issue.

It has over 100 years of experience building airplanes but it still failed to secure the possibility of unintended consequences. Now it will cost them billions when considering losing further ground in the single-aisle market place. However, Boeing will roar again and it has now begun its final stage since the second disaster for its Max program. Let us not lose sight of every airplane manufacturer has its problems. Boeing is human too. So being aggressive is a fear reflex. Stockholders are scared too. The will reflex as well so Boeing will ramp up its Max efforts towards the single-aisle. When the wind is knocked out of you get back up swinging.  Boeing just got "busted". It will play all its cards on the single-aisle market. Expect a new single-aisle offering sooner rather than later. The 797 programs may come into play as it may meld with the single-aisle linking the duo aisle but the second crash has awakened the Boeing beast in the scheme of things.

Automation is only good as its weakest link is the lessoned learned.

Okay, So The F-35 has Numbers By 2020

Below is a build progression of the F-35. Of course, numbered are partner sales and foreign delivery beyond what the US Takes from Lockheed's F-35 production lines.

The year 2019 projects 130+ F-35 units to be delivered to all its customers by the end of this year.
The United States will receive a bulk of 2019 deliveries reported below.
 

2019                        130 F-35's completed

About 60's F-35 have reached foreign military operations where 2019 will see a boost in delivered F-35 to other countries around the world. 

Having 358 F-35 delivered through 2018 suggests about 297 F-35's are with the US for testing and for the operational force. 

The summary for the F-35 looks impressive as the US military tries to achieve having over 1,700 of the F-35's A, B, and C in its military inventory. If the pacing remains the same for delivering around 150 F-35's every cycle. Expect a 20% to 80% for a foreign to US delivery split over the next years.

Charting out a rate of 160 units a year will give it a ten-year build cycle to reach over 2,000 F-35 units.

The remaining world's military production pace falls behind the Lockheed pace. The Russian model 57 and Chinese models 21, 31, or even its 10 will be a paltry number made compared with the F-35 production fleet. China makes up a lot of ground with its missile innovations.

Sunstroke Project Just Plain Fun

Okay SNL its time to feature Sunstroke Project. Good music good times from Moldova.

My favorite group and I'm old.

What Lays Beneath, The KC-46

The KC-46 is soon to replace the 50-year-old plus KC-135. It's an older 767 looking technology so what's the big deal about another Kerosene and Cargo tanker? New approach lights?

• F-35 like electronics
• Flexible Mission conversions
• Clandestinely Force Multiplication
• Secret Sauces the KC-135 couldn't even imagine
• Battlespace roll playing

These are few items just to mention and not all the subliminal attributes found within the flying gas station. Just think of the KC-46 more than just a highway stop on a back road. It's really a combat player where others only can dream of a fill-up and "go" kind of appendage.

The real reason it took so long to come to operational competency was was its complexity not unlike the F-35 program.  It fuels even flying motorcycles if asked! Its electronics goes from defensive data to offensive management for others to feed off of during a battle. Not to overrate the KC-46, fifty years of warfighting knowledge has been installed into the KC-46 since the 1960's era KC-135. It will take 2-3 years for the military to really get its arms around this beast. The boom operator sits comfortably up front watching a monitor hooked to high tech cameras for refueling connections instead of lying on the air warrior's belly manipulating the fuel nozzle into a flying receptacle under all conditions. That advancement alone makes you want to enlist into the US Air Force refueling mission.

The battlefield continues to change like in a video game when extra situations arise. The mission capability of the KC-46 is a broad stroke of the battlefield paint brush.

Day 1 of Battle:

• Refuel and Land at home base
• Change to medical evac and then pick-up wounded and comeback
• Change to Cargo and drop its load
• Load fighters and drop them into combat
• Detect adversaries and pass information through data links
• Jam incoming weapons
• Operate as an aviation command center when needed

Now you see the value of the KC-46, it's a big player

Secretly it allows all of the airwing to extend its missions simultaneously. It could refuel the F-15 and F-35 at the same time and send some helicopters in for Jet A. Could the KC-135 do that in one pass? No!

There are other things under its skin we can't even imagine and that is why developmental problems keep arising. It isn't just the boom operator station problem needing attention. It goes deeper but the press demands a story and the boom operator screen issues are as good as any while Boeing sorts out its secret sauce.

A tanker or KC-46, in this case, plays a vital roll in the battle space and has become a tool for combat success, not just a flying gas station, but a one-stop shop that continually changes when the battle rages on.

Shanahan Lacks Professional Political Smarts

An "x" Boeing Exec has not learned life's lessons before becoming this nation's "Acting Secretary of Defense" leader. Here is a Military Times Shanahan quote:


Military times Quote:

"Previous news reports indicated that Shanahan has disparaged Lockheed Martin’s fighter, the F-35, and other Lockheed weapons systems in private Pentagon meetings. In January Politico reported that Shanahan called the F-35 “f---ed up” and reportedly said Lockheed “doesn’t know how to run a program.”"

All of this above may be true but an idiot wouldn't go public with these statements to make a point. Now Shanahan is under investigation having a Boeing bias with this type of public banter gainst Lockheed as Acting Secretary of Defense. 

The Shanahan rules of engagement should follow these principles in his new position. Boeing's hallways trained you poorly for this position and verbal rancor is unacceptable. Follow these points and live a little longer as Acting Secretary of defense.

There are many more bullet points not mentioned but these are your basic top seven Shanahan points to follow in politics. Trump is not the role model to aspire to, he is the President!

• Vet your mouth with other professionals before speaking anything.
• Don't disparage publically/privately what you "FEEL".
• Go back to fifth grade and learn how to be smoothly powerful.
• Your five minutes of fame is over!!
• Trust no one!.
• Speaking to a room full of people is a death trap.
• Because of Boeing, you have a new set of rules.

Instead, speak of, the F-35, as a troubled program in many areas, let's address those troubles. The KC-46 program has troubles as well so let's discuss this at a special meeting. and... so forth.

"Truth To Power" is the gold standard when confronting opposing views and cannot be argued against you as a leader.

We Don't Know What's Going On At Boeing Neither Does Boeing

Boeing has a problem. It got too big and it doesn't know what is going on with its Max. It all starts with leadership at the top driving for golden parachutes instead of making sound aircraft. I know some high up exec had nothing to do with the recent 787 Max 8's crashes but somebody's heads have to roll and the long musical chair game of  Golden Parachutes have started. Usually, the most innocent executive goes first.

However, the profit over safety mantra has arisen its ugly head with the Ethiopian Max 8 loss, exposing Boeing's vulnerable flank. It must go back and take off game piece in order to restore corporate order. The Max 8 disasters have pushed Boeing to the corner of the brink and it, unfortunately, it needs to urge a new single-aisle pushing the 797 to the back of the line. Boeing will build a new single-aisle over the urgency of a new dual aisle NMA. It's do-over time for Boeing. It should have a structured path forward with safety as its banner or pleasing profit-minded stock-holders. Boeing did not do due diligence on the Max line of the 737 make-overs.

The Max was to keep its customers in check before having to make a risky venture on a clean sheet innovative single-aisle. Boeing averted risk-taking with the Max line of aircraft but the risk is beating them from the unforeseen mishaps it just encountered. Sloppy steps taken to avert risk has placed them a far riskier position today than six months ago. The death of passengers have paid the ultimate price with their lives but Boeing is going to pay a corporate price with its risky behavior.

Boeing needs to find what it's doing, stat!

Turkey is getting The S-400 The US has the SiAW

Something is better than what Turkey will buy from the Russians but it remains a national US secret in the startup of its production, which it has just received $350 million for its current product development. 

It's called the Stand-in Attack Weapon  It is also important to note is that America for decades or has for years been evolving an anti-radiation missile. The current missile in service is called an AGM-88 HARM thus having a lower capability than the newly accepted AARGM-ER, having a longer stand-off range. The excitement for this platform is specifically available for neutralizing radar positions in contested airspace before the main arriving force enters the battle space. 

The forerunning and advancing 4th generation jets mounting AARGM-ER will clean electronic ground defenses out from a sweep of its defensive airspace electronics.  A fighter bomber may only carry a rack of 3 AARGM-ER on the first flight to the battle space but the up and coming B-21 Raider has room for 12 AARGM-ER missiles.


So little is known of this missile and its high changing battlespace temperament, it will and can adjust its mission mid-flight with great effect to a winning outcome.

The AARGM-ER missile is a safe standoff missile for the fighters  The distanced fired from the objective can be managed by both the fighter pilot of the targeting missile or from a ground/space installation. The targeting missile can change if the target changes or a mission is changed mid-flight.

Stationary Missile defenses, even if they are repositioned by hundreds of feet or are networked by other stations have no shot in its own survival life cycle. 

A "semi-fixed" S-400 defense system, even though it could be moved during an action, an AARGM-ER would safely prevail over a hardened defensive missile with its Bombers and attack jets. 

Throwing A Wet Blanket Over the Max Because They Can

Recently the  Max 8 crashed again! No BIG business stalls on its responsibility, because it can. The once and mighty FAA balks at a conclusion but has relinquished that position with a US grounding proclamation for the Max 8 as pending lawsuits gain momentum over the latest crash. Whose in control of this matter? Money!

The Max wet blanket becomes a one by one airline pronouncement of "ours is Okay, "let's fly!"

A bad sensor, a bad DIY 737 Max 8 manual, and poor maintenance practices contribute to a disaster but money stands-by and watches. One by one the airlines grasp at staying afloat during this latest mess. Somehow a solution emerges after money is protected. The wet blanket is removed and we all get along.

Second Crash Tightens Boeing's Noose

A second 737 Max 8 crash in six months has placed a boot on Boeing's aviation neck for which a noose can slip over. Ethiopian Airways lost 157 today in a Max Crash.

157 dead as second Boeing 737 MAX-8 crashes after take-off

Not recanting details of this current devastation because investigations have just started and all loved ones have not been notified, it indeed places Boeing's 737 endeavors under the microscope. If Boeing is the contributing factor then a reexamination of its recent 737 Max upgrade is indeed the focus and results could possibly change the dynamics of the aviation market place which is not the main concern at this time.

The Lion Air crash last fall of 2018 could be a segway to this crash but so little is known at this time. Boeing cannot let the truth about its product be a dismissive topic. Whether an obvious mishap from other causes is found in the little remaining debris or a Boeing oversight issue remains to be discovered. A tragic day for the passengers and its airline. Another truly black eye for the industry which has many chapters of loss of life following to this point in history.