Russia's $650 billion rearmament plan

By Fred Weir – Mon Feb 28, 4:22 pm ET

Moscow – The graying bear is getting a make-over. Russia's military is launching its biggest rearmament effort since Soviet times, including a $650 billion program to procure 1,000 new helicopters, 600 combat planes, 100 warships, and 8 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines.

Analysts say Russia, while already the world's fifth-largest military spender, needs strong conventional forces to reduce its overreliance on its aging Soviet-era nuclear missile deterrent. Valentin Rudenko, director of the independent Interfax-Military News Agency, says it could create "a whole new ballgame."

"For about two decades we've had no real modernization, at least not like what's being proposed now," he says. "Russia will finally have a modern, top-level armed forces that are capable of protecting the country."

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Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Popovkin last week announced the unprecedented new outlays, which will see a massive re-equipping of Russia's strategic nuclear deterrent as well as its conventional forces. The Defense Ministry today said the "modernization drive" will begin this year with the deployment of new generations of air defense and antimissile weapons by Russian ground forces.

The impressive shopping spree comes on the heels of a painful military reform that severely downsized Russia's conscript Army, eliminating 9 out of 10 Soviet-era units and cutting 200,000 officers. The goal now, experts say, is to equip Russia's new lean-and-mean, largely professional armed forces to face 21st-century threats. These are mainly considered to be regional conflicts such as the brief 2008 Russo-Georgian war, which highlighted military shortcomings.

Skepticism over spending

Much of the new spending will go toward revamping Russia's naval forces, which are slated to receive new submarines, 35 naval corvettes, 15 frigates, and 4 Mistral-type helicopter-transporting amphibious assault ships. Two of the $750 million Mistrals will be purchased from France, and two are to be constructed in Russian shipyards.

Some experts are deeply skeptical of the expenditures – especially the expensive purchase of Mistral helicopter carriers, which are designed to project power around the globe rather than fight the defensive and local wars that Russian military doctrine declares as the country's main priority.

"It's hard to see what our Navy needs these Mistral money pits for," says Viktor Baranets, a former defense ministry spokesman who's now military correspondent for the Moscow daily Komsomolskaya Pravda. He says they may be prestigious, "but they require a huge amount of protection. At any time, half the Russian Navy may be employed just escorting these ships around the world."

The new submarines will be designed to deploy a brand-new long-range nuclear missile, the Bulava, which has failed half of its flight tests so far. "Defense ministers can make promises, but no designer or engineer can promise that the Bulava will be operational in time," says Mr. Baranets.

Uncertainty over new stealth fighter

Experts point out that most of the new weaponry to be procured is actually based on old, Soviet-era designs, including the Mi-28 helicopter gunship, the Mi-26 transport helicopter, and the Sukhoi Su-35 multirole fighter plane.

"These are all designs from the late Soviet period, and not really new at all," says Alexander Golts, military expert with the online newsmagazine Yezhednevny Zhurnal. "The lack of fresh designs shows the underlying weakness of our military-industrial complex."

The only truly new weapons being rolled out, says Mr. Golts, are the trouble-plagued Bulava missile and the much-hyped "fifth-generation" fighter plane that Russia is reportedly developing with India.

"We don't know enough about this Russian fifth-generation fighter to tell whether it is the real thing" – a futuristic stealth fighter comparable to the US Air Force's F-22 and F-35 warplanes – "or if it's just a jumped-up version of something old," says Golts.

Critics say that despite the huge sums of money slated to be injected into the rearmament program, it is far short of the amounts needed to revive Russia's moribund military-industrial complex, which has lost the vast network of subcontractors that existed in Soviet times.

"This is not the first time the Kremlin has talked about military modernization," says Golts. "But all previous programs have failed."

US admiral: China carrier killer won't stop US Navy

YOKOSUKA, Japan – A new "carrier killer" missile that has become a symbol of China's rising military might will not force the U.S. Navy to change the way it operates in the Pacific, a senior Navy commander told The Associated Press.

Defense analysts say the Dong Feng 21D missile could upend the balance of power in Asia, where U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups have ruled the waves since the end of World War II.

However, Vice Adm. Scott van Buskirk, commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet, told the AP in an interview that the Navy does not see the much-feared weapon as creating any insurmountable vulnerability for the U.S. carriers — the Navy's crown jewels.

"It's not the Achilles heel of our aircraft carriers or our Navy — it is one weapons system, one technology that is out there," Van Buskirk said in an interview this week on the bridge of the USS George Washington, the only carrier that is home-based in the western Pacific.

The DF 21D is unique in that it is believed capable of hitting a powerfully defended moving target — like the USS George Washington — with pinpoint precision. That objective is so complex that the Soviets gave up on a similar project.

The missile would penetrate defenses because its speed from launch would not allow enough time for carriers or other large ships to complete countermeasures.

That could seriously weaken Washington's ability to intervene in any potential conflict over Taiwan or North Korea, as well as deny U.S. ships safe access to international waters near China's 11,200-mile (18,000-kilometer) -long coastline.

Van Buskirk, whose fleet is responsible for most of the Pacific and Indian oceans, with 60-70 ships and 40,000 sailors and Marines under its command, said the capabilities of the Chinese missile are as yet unproven. But he acknowledged it does raise special concerns.

"Any new capability is something that we try to monitor," he said.

"If there wasn't this to point to as a game changer, there would be something else," he said. "That term has been bandied about for many things. I think it really depends in how you define the game, whether it really changes it or not. It's a very specific scenario for a very specific capability — some things can be very impactful."

The development of the missile comes as China is increasingly venturing further out to sea and is becoming more assertive around its coastline and in disputes over territory.

Late last year, China and Japan were locked in a heated diplomatic row over several islands both claim in the East China Sea, an area regularly patrolled by U.S. Navy vessels. A flotilla of 10 Chinese warships, including advanced submarines and destroyers, passed through the Miyako Strait last April in the biggest transit of its kind to date.

Experts saw it as an attempt by China to test Japan and the United States and demonstrate its open water capabilities.

China has also expressed strong displeasure with U.S. carrier operations off the Korean Peninsula, saying that they posed a security risk to its capital.

Still, van Buskirk said the Navy has no intention of altering its mission because of the new threat and will continue to operate in the seas around Japan, Korea, the Philippines and anywhere else it deems necessary.

"We won't change these operations because of this specific technology that might be out there," he told The AP while the USS George Washington was in its home port just south of Tokyo for repairs last week. "But we will carefully monitor and adapt to it."

The faster-than-expected development of the missile has set off alarm bells in Washington. Further, China is developing a stealth fighter jet that could be used to support its navy in a potential conflict and hopes to deploy its first aircraft carriers over the next decade.

Before visiting Beijing last month, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he has been concerned about the anti-ship missile since he took office.

In December, Adm. Robert Willard, the head of the U.S. Pacific Command, told Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper he believed the missile program had achieved "initial operational capability," meaning a workable design had been settled on and was being further developed.

The missile is considered a key component of China's strategy of denying U.S. planes and ships access to waters off its coast. The strategy includes overlapping layers of air defense systems, naval assets such as submarines, and advanced ballistic missile systems — all woven together with a network of satellites.

At its most capable, the DF 21D could be launched from land with enough accuracy to penetrate the defenses of even the most advanced moving aircraft carrier at a distance of more than 900 miles (1,500 kilometers).

To allay regional security fears, van Buskirk said, China needs to be more forthcoming about its intentions.

"It goes back to transparency," he said. "Using the United States as an example, we are very clear about our intent when conducting routine and normal operations in international waters ... That is what you might expect from other nations that might operate in this region.

Chinese Stealth Fighter J-20 On Air

BEIJING—The first clear pictures of what appears to be a Chinese stealth fighter prototype have been published online, highlighting China's military buildup just days before U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates heads to Beijing to try to repair defense ties.

The photographs, published on several unofficial Chinese and foreign defense-related websites, appear to show a J-20 prototype making a high-speed taxi test—usually one of the last steps before an aircraft makes its first flight—according to experts on aviation and China's military.

The exact origin of the photographs is unclear, although they appear to have been taken by Chinese enthusiasts from the grounds of or around the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute in western China, where the J-20 is in development. A few experts have suggested that the pictured aircraft is a mock-up, rather than a functioning prototype of a stealth fighter—so-called because it is designed to evade detection by radar and infrared sensors.

But many more experts say they believe the pictures and the aircraft are authentic, giving the strongest indication yet that Beijing is making faster-than-expected progress in developing a rival to the U.S. F-22—the world's only fully operational stealth fighter.

China's defense ministry and air force couldn't be reached to comment on the latest photos. Even without official confirmation, however, the photographs are likely to bolster concerns among U.S. officials and politicians about China's military modernization, which also includes the imminent deployment of its first aircraft carrier and "carrier-killer" antiship ballistic missiles.



Such weapons systems would significantly enhance China's ability to hinder U.S. intervention in a conflict over Taiwan, and challenge U.S. naval supremacy in the Asia-Pacific region.

Gen. He Weirong, deputy head of China's Air Force, announced in 2009 that China's first stealth fighters were about to undergo test flights and would be deployed in "eight or 10 years." But there was no clear physical evidence of their existence until the latest photographs emerged.

Chinese authorities who monitor Internet traffic in the country appear not to have tried to block the J-20 pictures.

"The photos I've seen look genuine," said Gareth Jennings, aviation desk editor at Jane's Defence Weekly.

"It's pretty far down the line," he said. "The fact that its nose wheel is off the ground in one picture suggest this was a high-speed taxi test—that usually means a test flight very soon afterwards. All the talk we've heard is that this could happen some time in the next few weeks."

U.S. officials played down Chinese advances on the plane, which American intelligence agencies believe will likely be operational around 2018. "We are aware that the Chinese have recently been conducting taxi tests and there are photos of it," said Pentagon spokesman Col. David Lapan. "We know they are working on a fifth-generation fighter but progress appears to be uneven."

Col. Lapan said it appears the Chinese are still seeking engines for a fourth-generation fighter from Russia, an indication that they are "still encountering problems" with development work toward the fifth-generation aircraft, the J-20.

But the 2018 estimate suggests U.S. officials believe China's development of the fifth-generation fighter has accelerated. In 2009, Mr. Gates predicted that China wouldn't deploy a fifth-generation fighter until 2020. U.S. officials said the latest disclosures wouldn't affect any U.S. aircraft-development programs.

China has made rapid progress in developing a capability to produce advanced weapons, also including unmanned aerial vehicles, after decades of importing and reverse engineering Russian arms. The photographs throw a fresh spotlight on the sensitive issue of China's military modernization just as Washington and Beijing try to improve relations following a series of public disputes in 2010.

Defense Secretary Gates is due to begin a long-delayed visit to Beijing on Sunday—almost exactly a year after China suspended military ties in protest over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.

China's President Hu Jintao is then due to begin a state visit to the U.S. on Jan. 19. President Barack Obama joined in preparatory talks at the White House on Tuesday between his national security adviser, Tom Donilon, and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi. During the meeting, Mr. Obama said he was committed to building a bilateral relationship that is "cooperative in nature," the White House said.



The two countries clashed last year over issues including the value of the Chinese currency, China's territorial claims in the South China Sea and vocal U.S. support for a jailed Chinese dissident who won the Nobel Peace Prize.

The U.S. was also frustrated by China's refusal to condemn two North Korean attacks on South Korea, while Beijing was angered by a U.S. decision to respond to the second attack, the shelling of a South Korean island in November, by sending an aircraft carrier to take part in joint naval exercises with Seoul near China's coast.

The U.S. and its Asian allies have also been alarmed by China's naval maneuvers and more forceful stance on territorial issues, while China's military strategists have accused the U.S. of trying to "contain" China—most recently by sending two more aircraft carriers to the region in December.

"The U.S. wants to retain its global hegemony and also preserve its regional interests. It is not comfortable with China's military rise," Senior Col. Han Xudong, a professor at China's National Defense University, was quoted as saying in the Global Times newspaper Tuesday.

Experts who said they thought the photographs were authentic included Andrei Chang of the Canadian-based Kanwa Asian Defence Monthly, and Richard Fisher, an expert on the Chinese military at the International Strategy and Assessment Center in Washington.

Several experts said the prototype's body appeared to borrow from the F-22 and other U.S. stealth aircraft, but they couldn't tell from the photographs how advanced it was in terms of avionics, composite materials or other key aspects of stealth technology.

They said that China was probably several years behind Russia, whose first stealth fighter, the Sukhoi T-50, made its first flight in January 2010, but that Beijing was catching up faster than expected.

The U.S. cut funding for the F-22 in 2009 in favor of the F-35, a smaller, cheaper stealth fighter that made its first test flight in 2006 and is expected to be fully deployed by around 2014. The F-22 has mainly been used for exercises and operations around U.S. airspace, but some have been deployed to Guam and Okinawa to help maintain the U.S. security umbrella in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Chinese prototype looks like it has "the potential to be a competitor with the F-22 and to be decisively superior to the F-35," said Mr. Fisher. The J-20 has two engines, like the F-22, and is about the same size, while the F-35 is smaller and has only one engine.

China's stealth-fighter program has implications also for Japan, which is considering buying F-35s, and for India, which last month firmed up a deal with Russia to jointly develop and manufacture a stealth fighter.

'World's most advanced HMS Astute' nuke sub runs aground

HMS Astute was on sea trials when her rudder is thought to have become stuck on a shingle bank between the mainland and the island off the west coast of Scotland. It is believed a crew transfer from the shore to the submarine was being carried out when the incident happened.

Royal Navy vessels and a tug helped free the submarine after an earlier attempt to tow the submarine failed, according to eyewitnesses.

A Navy spokesman described the accident as a "relatively minor incident", while a Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "This is not a nuclear incident. There are no injuries to personnel and the submarine is watertight."

The submarine weighs 7,800 tonnes, equivalent to nearly 1,000 double-decker buses, and is almost 100 metres (328ft) long. Its Spearfish torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles are capable of delivering pinpoint strikes from 2,000km (1,240 miles).

The submarine's nuclear reactor means that it will not need refuelling once in its entire 25-year life and it makes its own air and water, enabling it to circumnavigate the globe without needing to surface.

John Ainslie, co-ordinator of Scottish CND, said: "This is just the latest in a long line of incidents involving nuclear submarines off the west coast of Scotland. These vessels are regular visitors to the seas around Skye.

"The Navy has several submarine trials areas near Raasay and Applecross. Inquiries into previous incidents have shown an appalling lack of common sense and basic navigation skills on these hi-tech submarines."

The grounding of the £1.2 billion Astute hunter-killer comes at the end of a dire week for the Royal Navy which has seen its carrier force halved, Harrier jump jets axed and warship force reduced by almost a quarter.

It is understood that the boat, which is first in its class, ran aground by its stern in a manoeuvre that “went slightly wrong” after it had dropped some sailors ashore in tidal waters off the Isle of Skye.

As the tide rapidly ebbed it is thought the skipper of Astute, Commander Andy Coles, decided not to power it off the obstruction as it would risk damaging the hull that carries some of the most advanced acoustic tiles that make Astute virtually undetectable beneath the seas.

Navy insiders insisted that there was no likelihood of a nuclear reactor leak or any other environmental issue.

No one was injured in the incident that happened earlier today. It came the morning after Trafalgar Day, where sailors celebrated the 205th anniversary of Nelson's victory.

“Astute ran aground by her very stern earlier this morning as she was transferring people ashore,” a Navy spokesman said. “There’s no nuclear issue or no environmental issue that we are aware of and no one has been hurt.”

The submarine, which carries a crew of 98, will now wait until later today for tug boats to pull her off when the tide comes in.

Astute, which was handed over to the Navy by its builders BAE Systems in late August, will then continue her sea trials.

It is not known whether the boat, which can carry up to 38 Tomahawk cruise missiles and Spearfish torpedoes, was carrying any weapons.

At 7,200 tonnes the Astute is the biggest British nuclear attack submarine ever built, although it is half the size of the Trident nuclear submarines at 16,000 tonnes. The boat’s nuclear reactor will never need refueling during its 35 year life.

Amid the gloom of Navy cuts, which will see the Senior Service reduced by 5,000 sailors to 30,000, there was some celebration following publication of the defence review on Tuesday after it was announced the seventh and final Astute-class submarine would be ordered.

However the incident comes on the back of a number of submarine accidents in the last few years.

Iran inaugurates nation's first unmanned bomber

TEHRAN, Iran – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday inaugurated the country's first domestically built unmanned bomber aircraft, calling it an "ambassador of death" to Iran's enemies.

The 4-meter-long drone aircraft can carry up to four cruise missiles and will have a range of 620 miles (1,000 kilometers), according to a state TV report — not far enough to reach archenemy Israel.

"The jet, as well as being an ambassador of death for the enemies of humanity, has a main message of peace and friendship," said Ahmadinejad at the inauguration ceremony, which fell on the country's national day for its defense industries.

The goal of the aircraft, named Karrar or striker, is to "keep the enemy paralyzed in its bases," he said, adding that the aircraft is for deterrence and defensive purposes.

The president championed the country's military self-sufficiency program, and said it will continue "until the enemies of humanity lose hope of ever attacking the Iranian nation."

Iran launched an arms development program during its 1980-88 war with Iraq to compensate for a U.S. weapons embargo and now produces its own tanks, armored personnel carries, missiles and even a fighter plane.

Iran frequently makes announcements about new advances in military technology that cannot be independently verified.

State TV later showed video footage of the plane taking off from a launching pad and reported that the craft traveled at speeds of 560 miles per hour (900 kilometers per hour) and could alternatively be armed with two 250-pound (113.4-kilogram) bombs or a 450-pound (204.12-kilogram) guided bomb.

Iran has been producing its own light, unmanned surveillance aircraft since the late 1980s.

The ceremony came a day after Iran began to fuel its first nuclear power reactor, with the help of Russia, amid international concerns over the possibility of a military dimension to its nuclear program.

Iran insists it is only interested in generating electricity.

Referring to Israel's occasional threats against Iran's nuclear facilities, Ahmadinejad called any attack unlikely, but he said if Israel did, the reaction would be overwhelming.

"The scope of Iran's reaction will include the entire the earth," said Ahmadinejad. "We also tell you — the West — that all options are on the table."

Ahmadinejad appeared to be consciously echoing the terminology used by the U.S. and Israel in their statements not ruling out a military option against Iran's nuclear facilities.

On Friday, Iran also test-fired a new liquid fuel surface-to-surface missile, the Qiam-1, with advanced guidance systems.

MoD unveils unmanned fighter jet 'of the future'

LONDON (AFP) – An unmanned jet capable of striking long-range targets has been dubbed the "combat aircraft of the future" by the Ministry of Defence.

The Taranis -- named after the Celtic god of thunder -- was unveiled at a ceremony at BAE Systems in Warton, Lancashire, on Monday.

The £142.5 million prototype is the size of a light aircraft and has been equipped with stealth technology to make it virtually undetectable.

In a press release, the MoD described the Taranis as "a prototype unmanned combat aircraft of the future."

It is built to carry out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions while its crew stays safely on the ground and can control the aircraft from anywhere in the world.

The unmanned fighter jet can also carry bombs and missiles and, if the trials prove successful, the MoD said it should "ultimately be capable of striking targets at long range, even in another continent."

The current generation of propeller-driven drones -- such as the Predator and Reaper -- are capable of carrying missiles, but these unmanned planes can only be used in areas where the military has air dominance, such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

The first flight trials are due to start next year.

"Taranis is a truly trailblazing project," said Minister for International Security Strategy Gerald Howarth.

"The first of its kind in the UK, it reflects the best of our nation's advanced design and technology skills and is a leading programme on the global stage."

The Taranis was created by the MOD in partnership with BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, QinetiQ and GE Aviation.

"Taranis has been three-and-a-half years in the making and is the product of more than a million man-hours," said Nigel Whitehead, group managing director of BAE Systems' Programmes and Support business.

"It represents a significant step forward in this country's fast-jet capability.

"This technology is key to sustaining a strong industrial base and to maintain the UK's leading position as a centre for engineering excellence and innovation."

USAF vehicle breaks record for hypersonic flight

WASHINGTON – An experimental aircraft has set a record for hypersonic flight, flying more than 3 minutes at Mach 6 — six times the speed of sound.

The X-51A Waverider was released from a B-52 Stratofortress off the southern California coast Wednesday morning, the Air Force reported on its website. Its scramjet engine accelerated the vehicle to Mach 6, and it flew autonomously for 200 seconds before losing acceleration. At that point the test was terminated.

The Air Force said the previous record for a hypersonic scramjet burn was 12 seconds.

"We are ecstatic to have accomplished many of the X-51A test points during its first hypersonic mission," said Charlie Brink, an X-51A program manager with the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

"We equate this leap in engine technology as equivalent to the post-World War II jump from propeller-driven aircraft to jet engines," Brink said.

The Waverider was built for the Air Force by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and Boeing Co.

Joe Vogel, Boeing's director of hypersonics, said, "This is a new world record and sets the foundation for several hypersonic applications, including access to space, reconnaissance, strike, global reach and commercial transportation."

Four X-51A cruisers have been built for the Air Force, and the remaining three will be tested this fall.

"No test is perfect," Brink said, "and I'm sure we will find anomalies that we will need to address before the next flight."

U-2 Spy Plane Evades the Day of Retirement

The U-2 spy plane, the high-flying aircraft that was often at the heart of cold war suspense, is enjoying an encore.

Four years ago, the Pentagon was ready to start retiring the plane, which took its first test flight in 1955. But Congress blocked that, saying the plane was still useful.

And so it is. Because of updates in the use of its powerful sensors, it has become the most sought-after spy craft in a very different war in Afghanistan.

As it shifts from hunting for nuclear missiles to detecting roadside bombs, it is outshining even the unmanned drones in gathering a rich array of intelligence used to fight the Taliban.

All this is a remarkable change from the U-2's early days as a player in United States-Soviet espionage. Built to find Soviet missiles, it became famous when Francis Gary Powers was shot down in one while streaking across the Soviet Union in 1960, and again when another U-2 took the photographs that set off the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. Newer versions of the plane have gathered intelligence in every war since then and still monitor countries like North Korea.

Now the U-2 and its pilots, once isolated in their spacesuits at 70,000 feet, are in direct radio contact with the troops in Afghanistan. And instead of following a rote path, they are now shifted frequently in midflight to scout roads for convoys and aid soldiers in firefights.

In some ways, the U-2, which flew its first mission in 1956, is like an updated version of an Etch A Sketch in an era of high-tech computer games.

"It's like after all the years it's flown, the U-2 is in its prime again," said Lt. Col. Jason M. Brown, who commands an intelligence squadron that plans the missions and analyzes much of the data. "It can do things that nothing else can do."

One of those things, improbably enough, is that even from 13 miles up its sensors can detect small disturbances in the dirt, providing a new way to find makeshift mines that kill many soldiers.

In the weeks leading up to the recent offensive in Marja, military officials said, several of the 32 remaining U-2s found nearly 150 possible mines in roads and helicopter landing areas, enabling the Marines to blow them up before approaching the town.

Marine officers say they relied on photographs from the U-2's old film cameras, which take panoramic images at such a high resolution they can see insurgent footpaths, while the U-2's newer digital cameras beamed back frequent updates on 25 spots where the Marines thought they could be vulnerable.

In addition, the U-2's altitude, once a defense against antiaircraft missiles, enables it to scoop up signals from insurgent phone conversations that mountains would otherwise block.

As a result, Colonel Brown said, the U-2 is often able to collect information that suggests where to send the Predator and Reaper drones, which take video and also fire missiles. He said the most reliable intelligence comes when the U-2s and the drones are all concentrated over the same area, as is increasingly the case.

The U-2, a black jet with long, narrow wings to help it slip through the thin air, cuts an impressive figure as it rises rapidly into the sky. It flies at twice the height of a commercial jet, affording pilots views of such things as the earth's curvature.

But the plane, nicknamed the Dragon Lady, is difficult to fly, and missions are grueling and dangerous. The U-2s used in Afghanistan and Iraq commute each day from a base near the Persian Gulf, and the trip can last nine to 12 hours. Pilots eat meals squeezed through tubes and wear spacesuits because their blood would literally boil if they had to eject unprotected at such a high altitude.

As the number of flights increases, some of the plane's 60 pilots have suffered from the same disorienting illness, known as the bends, that afflicts deep-sea divers who ascend too quickly.

Relaxing recently in their clubhouse at Beale Air Force Base near Sacramento, Calif., the U-2's home base, several pilots said the most common problems are sharp joint pain or a temporary fogginess.

But in 2006, a U-2 pilot almost crashed after drifting in and out of consciousness during a flight over Afghanistan. The pilot, Kevin Henry, now a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, said in an interview that he felt as if he were drunk, and he suffered some brain damage. At one point, he said, he came within five feet of smashing into the ground before miraculously finding a runway.

As a safety measure, U-2 pilots start breathing pure oxygen an hour before takeoff to reduce the nitrogen in their bodies and cut the risk of decompression sickness. Mr. Henry, who now instructs pilots on safety, thinks problems with his helmet seal kept him from breathing enough pure oxygen before his flight.

Lt. Col. Kelly N. West, the chief of aerospace medicine at Beale, said one other pilot had also been disqualified from flying the U-2. Since 2002, six pilots have transferred out on their own after suffering decompression illnesses.

Still, most of the pilots remain undeterred, and the Air Force is taking more precautions. Holding an oxygen mask to his nose, one pilot, Maj. Eric M. Shontz, hopped on an elliptical machine for 10 minutes before a practice flight at Beale to help dispel the nitrogen faster. Several assistants then made sure he stayed connected to an oxygen machine as they sealed his spacesuit and drove him to the plane.

Major Shontz and other U-2 pilots say the planes gradually became more integrated in the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. But since the flights over Afghanistan began to surge in early 2009, the U-2s have become a much more fluid part of the daily battle plan.

Major Shontz said he was on the radio late last year with an officer as a rocket-propelled grenade exploded. "You could hear his voice talking faster and faster, and he's telling me that he needs air support," Major Shontz recalled. He said that a minute after he relayed the message, an A-10 gunship was sent to help.

Brig. Gen. H.D. Polumbo Jr., a top policy official with the Air Force, said recent decisions to give intelligence analysts more flexibility in figuring out how to use the U-2 each day had added to its revival.

Over beers at the clubhouse, decorated with scrolls honoring the heroes of their small fraternity, other U-2 pilots say they know their aircraft's reprieve will last only so long.

And the U-2's replacement sits right across the base — the Global Hawk, a remote-controlled drone that flies almost as high as the U-2 and typically stays aloft for 24 hours or more. The first few Global Hawks have been taking intelligence photos in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But a larger model that could also intercept communications has been delayed, and the Air Force is studying how to add sensors that can detect roadside bombs to other planes. So officials say it will most likely be 2013 at the earliest before the U-2 is phased into retirement.

"We've needed to be nimble to stay relevant," said Doug P. McMahon, a major who has flown the U-2 for three years. "But eventually it's bound to end."

Japan confirms Cold War-era 'secret' pacts with US

By MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press Writer Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 55 mins ago

TOKYO – Japan confirmed for the first time Tuesday the existence of once-secret Cold War-era pacts with the U.S. that tacitly allowed nuclear-armed warships to enter Japanese ports in violation of Tokyo's postwar principles.

While declassified U.S. documents have already confirmed such 1960s agreements, Tuesday's revelation broke with decades of official denials.

The investigation by a government-mandated panel is part of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's campaign to rein in the power of bureaucrats and make his government, which was elected to power last year, more open than that of the long-ruling conservatives, who repeatedly denied the existence of such pacts.

"It's regrettable that such facts were not disclosed to the public for such a long time, even after the end of the Cold War era," Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada told a news conference, adding that the investigation was meant to restore public trust in Japan's diplomacy.

The panel examined documents surrounding four pacts, including Tokyo's tacit permission that U.S. nuclear-armed warships could make calls at Japanese ports — a violation of Japan's so-called three non-nuclear principles not to make, own or allow the entry of atomic weapons.

There is strong aversion to nuclear weapons in Japan, the only country to suffer atomic bombings — in Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II.

Speculation about the existence of such secret agreements have been swirling in Japan for years so the panel's findings most likely will simply confirm public suspicions rather than shock or anger people. Some are also aware of U.S. documents about these matters.

Analysts welcomed the move as a positive step toward more transparency in the Japanese government but said it probably won't revive the sagging popularity of Hatoyama's government or affect U.S.-Japan ties, which have grown strained recently because of a dispute about relocating a key Marine base on the southern island of Okinawa.

"It's a good thing for Japanese democracy, given that the previous governments have been telling blunt lies to the public," said Koichi Nakano, a political science professor at Sophia University in Tokyo.

"But I don't think it's going to have a short-term impact on the government's popularity," he said. "A lot of people look at this as something that belongs to history."

Under a security alliance with the U.S., some 47,000 American troops are stationed in Japan, and the U.S. protects the country under its nuclear umbrella.

Okada said it was possible that before 1991, when the U.S. stopped carrying battle-ready nuclear weapons, American warships might have had nuclear weapons as they entered Japanese waters or entered Japanese ports.

Reacting to the six-member panel's findings, summarized in a 108-page report, Hatoyama said there would be no changes to Japan's non-nuclear policy.

The panel, led by University of Tokyo professor Shinichi Kitaoka, said that while documents showed that Washington and Tokyo appeared to have differing interpretations about allowing nuclear-armed ships into Japanese waters, it was likely that Tokyo and Washington shared an unspoken understanding permitting them to make port calls in Japan without consent.

The experts also acknowledged that Tokyo and Washington had secret agreements allowing the U.S. to use military bases in Japan without prior consent in case of emergency on the Korean Peninsula during the Korean War.

The panel said it could not find specific evidence showing a secret pact allowing the U.S. to bring nuclear weapons into Okinawa after the 1972 reversion of the island to Japan. But it acknowledged that there was a vague secret agreement over Japan's cost burdens for Okinawa's 1972 reversion to Japan.

___

Associated Press writer Malcolm Foster contributed to this report.

(This version CORRECTS the spelling of professor's name to Kitaoka, instead of Kataoka.)

U.S. Marine Walks Away From Shot to Helmet in Afghanistan

MARJAH, Afghanistan—It is hard to know whether Monday was a very bad day or a very good day for Lance Cpl. Andrew Koenig.

On the one hand, he was shot in the head. On the other, the bullet bounced off him.

In one of those rare battlefield miracles, an insurgent sniper hit Lance Cpl. Koenig dead on in the front of his helmet, and he walked away from it with a smile on his face.

"I don't think I could be any luckier than this," Lance Cpl. Koenig said two hours after the shooting.

Lance Cpl. Koenig's brush with death came during a day of intense fighting for the Marines of Company B, 1st Battalion, 6th Regiment.

The company had landed by helicopter in the predawn dark on Saturday, launching a major coalition offensive to take Marjah from the Taliban.

The Marines set up an outpost in a former drug lab and roadside-bomb factory and soon found themselves under near-constant attack.

Lance Cpl. Koenig, a lanky 21-year-old with jug-handle ears and a burr of sandy hair, is a designated marksman. His job is to hit the elusive Taliban fighters hiding in the tightly packed neighborhood near the base.

The insurgent sniper hit him first. The Casper, Wyo., native was kneeling on the roof of the one-story outpost, looking for targets.

He was reaching back to his left for his rifle when the sniper's round slammed into his helmet.

The impact knocked him onto his back.

"I'm hit," he yelled to his buddy, Lance Cpl. Scott Gabrian, a 21-year-old from St. Louis.

Lance Cpl. Gabrian belly-crawled along the rooftop to his friend's side. He patted Lance Cpl. Koenig's body, looking for wounds.

Then he noticed that the plate that usually secures night-vision goggles to the front of Lance Cpl. Koenig's helmet was missing. In its place was a thumb-deep dent in the hard Kevlar shell.

Lance Cpl. Gabrian slid his hands under his friend's helmet, looking for an entry wound. "You're not bleeding," he assured Lance Cpl. Koenig. "You're going to be OK."

Lance Cpl. Koenig climbed down the metal ladder and walked to the company aid station to see the Navy corpsman.

The only injury: A small, numb red welt on his forehead, just above his right eye.

He had spent 15 minutes with Doc, as the Marines call the medics, when an insurgent's rocket-propelled grenade exploded on the rooftop, next to Lance Cpl. Gabrian.

The shock wave left him with a concussion and hearing loss.

He joined Lance Cpl. Koenig at the aid station, where the two friends embraced, their eyes welling.

The men had served together in Afghanistan in 2008, and Lance Cpl. Koenig had survived two blasts from roadside bombs.

"We've got each other's backs," Lance Cpl. Gabrian said, the explosion still ringing in his ears.

Word of Lance Cpl. Koenig's close call spread quickly through the outpost, as he emerged from the shock of the experience and walked through the outpost with a Cheshire cat grin.

"He's alive for a reason," Tim Coderre, a North Carolina narcotics detective working with the Marines as a consultant, told one of the men. "From a spiritual point of view, that doesn't happen by accident."

Gunnery Sgt. Kevin Shelton, whose job is to keep the Marines stocked with food, water and gear, teased the lance corporal for failing to take care of his helmet.

"I need that damaged-gear statement tonight," Gunnery Sgt. Shelton told Lance Cpl. Koenig. It was understood, however, that Lance Cpl. Koenig would be allowed to keep the helmet as a souvenir.

Gunnery Sgt. Shelton, a 36-year-old veteran from Nashville, said he had never seen a Marine survive a direct shot to the head.

But next to him was Cpl. Christopher Ahrens, who quietly mentioned that two bullets had grazed his helmet the day the Marines attacked Marjah. The same thing, he said, happened to him three times in firefights in Iraq.

Cpl. Ahrens, 26, from Havre de Grace, Md., lifted the camouflaged cloth cover on his helmet, exposing the holes where the bullets had entered and exited.

He turned it over to display the picture card tucked inside, depicting Michael the Archangel stamping on Lucifer's head. "I don't need luck," he said.

After his moment with Lance Cpl. Gabrian, Lance Cpl. Koenig put his dented helmet back on his head and climbed the metal ladder to resume his rooftop duty within an hour of being hit.

"I know any one of these guys would do the same," he explained. "If they could keep going, they would."

The Pentagon prepares for a misille attack from Iran

A Ghadr 1 class Shahab 3 long-range missile is prepared for launch during a test from an unknown location in central Iran

Fake "North Korean" missiles have been hurtling over the Pacific toward the U.S. for years, providing test fodder for the Pentagon's missile-defense systems. But next month, the fake enemy missiles flying over the same ocean are going to be "Iranian." The timing of the test, however, has nothing to do with a missile test-fired by Iran on Tuesday. That was a medium-range Sajjil-2 missile capable of targeting Israel or U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf. Next month's U.S. interceptor test will, instead, be aimed at the as-yet-hypothetical threat of an Iranian intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), even though such a threat has been deemed by the Obama Administration to be unlikely in the immediate future.

The Administration announced earlier this year that the long-range Iranian threat isn't advancing as quickly as once feared. Recent U.S. intelligence assessments have concluded that "the threat of a potential Iranian ICBM had been slower to develop than previously estimated," Ellen Tauscher, the State Department's arms-control chief, told Congress. Some intelligence estimates say an Iranian ICBM might not happen until 2020. That assessment prompted the President, with Pentagon support, to scrap a land-based interceptor system based in Poland and the Czech Republic and instead to deploy ships capable of shooting down the short- and mid-range Iranian missiles that U.S. intelligence believes pose a more imminent threat — like the sort of missile test-fired by Iran this week.

Next month's missile test not only will be aimed at a threat deemed less than urgent but will also involve tougher technical challenges. Destroying a "North Korean" missile involves hitting it as it zooms from left to right across an interceptor's field of view, but the locations of the "Iranian" missile and the U.S. interceptors require more of a head-on collision. That means the closing speed between the two projectiles will be faster than in previous tests: close to 18,000 m.p.h., compared with 15,000 m.p.h. in prior exercises.

That reduced shoot-down window means the interceptor will have to work more quickly to do its job. "Whenever we have a situation where we're taking on a missile more head-on than from the side, that increases the challenges," Army Lieut. General Patrick O'Reilly, the U.S. missile-defense chief, told a defense gathering sponsored by Reuters on Monday. The test is expected to send an interceptor missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at a fake Iranian missile, fired from the Marshall Islands.

The U.S. currently has 23 ground-based interceptors based in Alaska and California, and they could be used against missiles launched — for real — from either North Korea or Iran. "They can go both ways," O'Reilly told Congress in October. "If you look at the earth from the North Pole, you'll see that the closest part of the U.S. to Iran is Alaska." He added that the U.S. has other ways of destroying such weapons, including attacking them during the several days it takes to ready them for launch. "All ICBMs right now associated with Iran and North Korea are pad-launched," added General James Cartwright, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, at the same session. "They're very visible, they're up above the ground, and you can go after them before launch if you so desire. We're not advocating pre-emptive, but it is a physical capability that we possess."

It may, of course, make sense for the U.S. to hedge its bets on what it knows about Iran. Two years ago, the U.S. intelligence community declared that Iran had, in 2003, halted its secret push to build nuclear weapons. But last weekend a document, purportedly from inside Tehran's nuclear program, surfaced in a London newspaper suggesting that Iran has been busy developing the sophisticated devices necessary to trigger a nuclear explosion. Some intelligence officials believe that the undated document was written in 2007 — the same year U.S. intelligence said Iran had frozen its weapons program. Then again, neither the U.S. nor other Western intelligence agencies are able to verify the document's authenticity.

Obama Shelves U.S. Missile Shield: The Winners and Losers

President Obama's decision to shelve plans to station U.S. missile defenses in Poland and the Czech Republic is being portrayed as a pragmatic response to the threat of Iranian nuclear missiles. In confirming the move on Thursday, Sept. 16, Obama said the U.S. wants to focus instead on deploying "technologies that are proven and cost-effective and that counter the current threat" — that is, Iran's medium-range missiles, rather than any intercontinental ballistic missiles Iran could possibly develop.

But if the move raises concerns in Tehran, it's not because of any impact it will have on Iran's missile capability, but rather because the decision represents an enticement to Moscow to support new U.S. sanctions against Iran. At the same time, Russian officials must be smiling wryly at Obama's explanation that the plan was changed because of revised intelligence estimates of Iran's missile capability — since Moscow had never taken seriously the U.S. explanation that the shield was designed to protect against an Iranian threat. (An interceptor system targeting Iranian missiles would be more appropriately stationed in Jordan than in Poland, after all, and Moscow's vehement opposition to the planned deployment on its doorstep was based on fears that it actually was aimed at weakening Russia's own nuclear deterrent, because the system would be able to intercept Russia's missiles in the so-called boost stage.) Meanwhile, Obama's decision will surely raise alarms in the corridors of power in Ukraine, Georgia and other NATO-inclined countries in the former Soviet bloc, who saw the battle over the missile shield as a litmus test of Obama's willingness to stand up to Russia's efforts to re-establish its hegemony in its post–World War II sphere of influence.

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin made it clear from the outset of the Obama Administration that any effort to "reset" U.S.-Russian relations would require that Washington do more to accommodate Russian concerns — first and foremost, its opposition to the missile shield and to NATO's expansion into former Soviet-bloc countries. Soon after taking office, Obama reportedly wrote a private letter to Medvedev suggesting that the missile shield would become unnecessary were Russia to help the U.S. prevent Iran from developing into a nuclear threat. The Russians also made the missile shield a central issue in negotiations with Washington over a new arms-control deal to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. That treaty expires in December, and Obama has made putting a new treaty in place by then a priority of his Russia policy.

But the key nuclear-proliferation concern facing the Administration is Iran, which Western powers suspect is developing a capacity to build nuclear weapons under the cover of its civilian atomic-energy program. Although a new round of talks between Iran and the main international players has been scheduled for Oct. 1, the Administration is not anticipating a diplomatic breakthrough and is at the same time seeking support for new sanctions aimed at pressing Iran to cease uranium enrichment. Russia just last week reiterated that it opposes new sanctions.

Given the link drawn by Obama, soon after he took office, between Russian cooperation on Iran and the missile-defense plan, it's hard not to read the shelving of the missile shield as at least partly a move to enlist Russian support on Iran. It's not at all certain, however, that such support will be forthcoming. Moscow does not believe Iran is currently pursuing nuclear weapons, and its adversarial relationship with Washington will be maintained as long as the likes of Ukraine and Georgia are being considered for NATO membership. Critics in Washington are already accusing Obama of giving Moscow something for nothing.

Even more alarmed than Washington hawks are U.S. allies in former Soviet-controlled territories. Already, the limits of what former Soviet-satellite states can expect from the West was cruelly demonstrated last year, when the U.S. was unable to do anything to prevent Russian tanks from rolling into Georgia to punish that country's military for attacking South Ossetia. The missile-shield decision will confirm fears that Washington's power to roll back Russian influence in the region is waning.

Still, giving up the protection offered by the missile shield is not particularly difficult for the U.S. — for the simple reason that the shield doesn't offer any significant protection. The system that would have been deployed in Poland and the Czech Republic was in every sense a work in progress whose testing had not yet proved any real-world capacity to deal with a hostile missile threat. In that sense, the missile "shield" was every bit as hypothetical as the Iranian missile threat against which it was ostensibly deployed.

Lockheed F-35 Lightning II Specs and Pics

The Lockheed F-35 Lightning II is a fifth-generation fighter development of the United States that incorporates new and learned stealth technology and practices with advanced computer processing and systems through a "budget-friendly" modular approach. The intended project goal (then under the name of Joint Strike Fighter) was to develop a single airframe capable of serving the multiple required roles of the primary armed services within the US Department of Defense - namely the United States Air Force (F-35A), the United States Navy (F-35C) and the United States Marine Corps (F-35B) as well as the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy services (both taking the F-35B model) of the British Ministry of Defense (MoD). The F-35 is currently being developed into three distinct airframes to reflect their respective uses with each design revolving around the same single-engine, single-seat approach. In any of the forms, the F-35 will remain a potent supersonic (Mach 1.0+ capable) fighter with lethal strike capabilities reportedly unmatched by anything else in the modern skies. While the Lockheed F-22 Raptor is intended as a fifth-generation "stealthified" air superiority fighter, the F-35's sorties will center more on the infiltration role and in dealing with accurate ground strikes through use of guided munitions and drop bombs, advanced airborne real-time reconnaissance and in radar-suppression sorties charged with the destruction of enemy "eyes-to-the-skies" - all this while retaining potent air-to-air capabilities.

If Lockheed succeeds in the design of the STOVL variant (F-35B), the Lightning II will become the first supersonic STOVL fighter ever produced. if the entire F-35 project fulfills all of its intended goals, the Lightning II will be the most advanced fighter design ever and will surely usher in a new age of powered flight.

The F-35 is intended to be an "affordable" fighter platform, hence the development of one airframe for the three distinct tasks. The aircraft is afforded a complex battlefield management system that allows it to receive and track real-time information and allow the pilot and system to react accordingly while transferring this information to other allied forces. The aircraft is said to provide for easier maintenance, especially in terms of taking care of the sensitive stealth components and skin. Throughout its design, the F-35 has incorporated an array of radar-defeating/absorbing measures that include a specialized mix of construction materials, coatings, angular edges and internally-based antenna probes to minimize profile from any direction.

Countries involved in the F-35 program (alongside the United States and United Kingdom) include Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway and Turkey. Each are expecting to receive operational F-35s into service at some point. Each nation is rated by partner levels in the development. The UK remains the top partner as a Level 1 contributor. Italy and the Netherlands are Level 2 partners while Canada, Turkey, Australia, Norway and Denmark are Level 3 partners. Israel and Singapore have signed on as "Security Cooperative Participants" (SCP).

Planned quantities of the respective aircraft model for each country is as follows: USAF (1,763); USN/USMC (680); RAF/RN (138); Italy (131); Netherlands (85); Turkey (100); Australia (100); Norway (56, up from the original 48 as of June 2009); Denmark (48); Canada (80). Norwegian F-35s will be replacing their fleet of aging F-16 Fighting Falcons. Italian F-35s will see final assembly at Cameri Air Base. Cost estimates for individual F-35 units are as follows (FY2002): F-35A ($40 million+); F-35B ($60 million+); F-35C ($60 million+). The end price will surely be higher by 2012 dollars.

The Joint Strike Fighter Program

The Joint Strike Fighter program was started on November 16th, 1996 as a US attempt to develop a next-generation airframe capable of replacing a variety of dedicated fighter and fighter-bomber types in the US inventory. The new design would have to replace such proven performers as the Lockheed/General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, the Fairchild Republic A-10 Warthog, the carrier-based Boeing/McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet and the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II (the latter also covering the British Harrier developments in the Harrier GR.Mk 7 and GR.Mk 9). No small task considering the respective successes found by each aircraft throughout the world.

No Small Task - Replacing the Cold War Heavy-Hitters

The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon had proven itself in countless conflicts beginning with actions in the Middle East by 1981. The F-16 was a lightweight aircraft equally capable of air superiority and ground strike. It maintained a healthy capability of mounting a variety of munitions to suit the many field requirements in regards to target type. This multi-faceted performer went on to become a staple of US allies from South America to the Middle East and Europe to the Pacific. As of this writing, production numbers of this aircraft have already surpassed 4,400 examples - the first being introduced in 1978.

The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt was a highly unique aircraft charged with the destruction of enemy armor at low-speed and low-altitudes. The system was built for survival at these low-levels and, therefore, was in some ways manufactured as a "flying tank" complete with cockpit armoring, elevated engine nacelles (to protect each engine from ground fire) and the ability to withstand a good deal of battlefield punishment. The aircraft could stay afloat with one engine completely blown away from the fuselage. Beyond the capability to carry a large ordnance load of missiles (air-to-air and air-to-ground) and bombs (conventional and guided), the A-10 was most noteworthy for her nose-mounted, 7-barreled 30mm Avenger Gatling cannon. The A-10 was debuted in 1977 and produced in 715 examples including a two-seat Forward Air Control (FAC) version.

The F/A-18 Hornet was derived from the YF-17 "Cobra" demonstrator, a design that lost out to the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon to become the USAFs next lightweight fighter. The US Navy, however, found interest in the aircraft and the revised (and larger) F/A-18 Hornet was selected to replace the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, A-6 Intruder and A-7 Corsair II on all US carriers. The system was a multi-role performer at heart, capable of taking on the air superiority role of the Tomcat while providing the capability to tackle the strike roles of the Intruder and Corsair IIs before it. The F/A-18 Hornet has since proven a successful addition since its inception into service in early 1983 and has been evolved into the two-seat ultra-capable F/A-18E/F "Super Hornet".

The McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II (and its British counterparts the GR.7 and GR.9) were modernized versions of the original Hawker Siddeley Harrier VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) multi-role, close-support "jump jets". The AV-8B was developed for the Marine Corps "going it alone" while the British pursued other interests, eventually coming back to the program and becoming a junior partner. The history of the Harrier made it one of the most dangerous and complicated aircraft to fly but also made it one of the most unique battlefield components - with jet fighter-like performance wrapped around helicopter-like capabilities.

It was this impressive stable of Cold War developments that the Joint Strike Fighter project sought to replace.

Background

The F-35 was the aircraft born out of the US Joint Strike Fighter program. For the next five years, Boeing's X-32 faced off against Lockheed's X-35 (Northrop Grumman/McDonnell Douglas was another program contended). The program required the construction of two Concept Demonstration Aircraft (CDA). Computers were used in predicting the data garnered from the CDA aircraft and the final decision was capped by pages of proposals with promises detailing the aircraft maintenance requirements and construction needs. The winner of the program was eventually decided on October 26th, 2001.

Though both aircraft seemed to fit the requirements, the Lockheed submittal was selected ahead of Boeing's in that it consistently bested the Boeing design enough to earn the victory and was seen as a "lesser" financial risk in the long run. The X-32 also used a more conventional "vectored-thrust" approach, similar to that as employed in the Harrier, to complete its vertical and take-off approaches. The Northrop Grumman/McDonnell Douglas design employed an interesting Lift-Plus-Lift/Cruise methodology similar to that as found on the Soviet Yakovlev Yak-38 "Forger". The Lockheed team settled on a dedicated lift-fan system positioned just aft of the cockpit as well as a rotating rear engine exhaust nozzle to accomplish the same balanced result - with both propulsion units deriving lift power from the main engine. Lockheed's patented lift fan, though a new and untested, was deemed a more reasonable long-term approach. The lift-fan concept held some distinct advantages that the X-32's thrust vectoring system did not - primarily, the lift fan offered cooling for the downward-thrusted air, meaning that the chance of hot exhaust gasses re-entering the engine was minimized. Additionally, the space required for the lift-fan drive system was a benefit to the X-35A and X-35C designs as in more internal fuel. Since the USMC was more interested in a short-range, quick-react aircraft to begin with, range was a limitation that could be overlooked on the STOVL version of the X-35.

The designation of "F-35" was appointed to the new Lockheed production design.

Securing the X-35 contract for Lockheed was no small feat and there was plenty of finance at stake. With all options exercised, the X-35 program (and subsequent F-35 production) could net the firm some $200 billion dollars. Engine maker Pratt & Whitney was also onboard, receiving a $4 billion dollar contract for its part in the powerplant development and production. Not content to side idle, the British stepped in and invested $2 billion of their own money into the project, with the hopes of securing their first 5th generation - and first stealth - fighter.

The project also included major contributions from Northrop Grumman and British Aerospace (BAe).

Development

The production F-35s were born out of three prototypes - the first being the X-35A produced out of the Skunk Works facility at Palmdale. The X-35A completed its first flight on October 24th, 2000, and was then transferred to Edwards Air Force Base for its rigorous trials including in-flight refueling runs and beyond the speed-of-sound flights. After 27 flight tests concluded on November 22nd, 2000, the vehicle was delivered back to Palmdale for conversion into the X-35B STOVL variant prototype. X-35C actually became the second aircraft constructed while the X-35A-X-35B conversion was taking place. Serving as a "back up" to the more complicated X-35B development, the X-35C was actually made ready to accept the lift-fan assembly should the X-35B find itself lost to accident or some other major complication. The first production F-35 Lightning II achieved first flight on December 15th, 2006. The first F-35A wrapped up flight testing at Edwards Air Force Base on October 23rd, 2008. Supersonic flight was achieved soon after on November 13th, 2008.

X-35B achieved first flight on June 24th, 2001, and accomplished a complete sustained hover cycle. In the end, the prototype accounted for 18 vertical take-off operations and no less than 27 hover landings. The production STOVL F-35B began its flight testing phase in 2008. The first F-35B (STOVL variant) achieved first flight on June 11th, 2008. The second F-35B known as BF-2 completed its first flight on February 25th, 2009 and its first aerial refueling exercise via probe and drogue on August 13th, 2009.

The carrier X-35C went airborne for the first time on December 16th, 2000. The X-35C then underwent a series of rigorous mock carrier landings to test out the validity of the modified airframe. The X-35C proved a pleasant beast to fly and excelled in the low-level, low-speed approaches the US Navy was looking for in their new aircraft. The X-35C completed testing by way of 73 total flights on March 11th, 2001. The production F-35C (USN variant) was revealed on July 28th, 2009 with an expected first flight some time during the remainder of 2009. The F-35 test program completed its 100th flight on June 23rd, 2009.

Per Lockheed, the F-35B for the USMC is expected to be delivered sometime in 2012 - the earliest of the three variants. The USAF is expected to take on deliveries of its F-35As sometime in 2013. The US Navy's F-35Cs are expected to be delivered in 2015. In the end, the lifespan of the airframe is estimated to last past the year 2030, perhaps even closer to 2040.

Systems

The F-35 features an Electro-Optical Distributed Aperture System (DAS) that will simultaneously inform the pilot of the battlefield situation from every angle of his aircraft. The aircraft will be able to single out and coordinate enemy aircraft in the sky as well as air-to-air and surface-to-air missile launches directed against the F-35. Explosions on the ground will also signal detection within the aircraft. Levels of automation has been implemented in the both the STOVL and conventional landing variants to help ease workflow. The aircraft will also supply enhanced pilot vision for both day and night sorties. The system was developed by Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control with Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems.

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control and Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems has also geared up to provide the F-35 pilot with an all-new Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS). The EOTS is set to supply the F-35 pilot and his mount with the ability to detect and track targets from greater ranges out with a high level of accuracy. This will make the Lightning II one of the most - if not the most - deadly fighter ever to take the skies. The EOTS system is fitted to the underside portion of the nose assembly.

Stealth lessons learned since the flying days of Lockheed's F-117 Nighthawk have been evolved to a high degree in the F-35 Lightning II. The engine nozzle has been developed as a "stealth-friendly" axisymmetric component to further the aircraft's anti-radar characteristics while maintaining the smallest possible signature and overall profile.

Northrop Grumman Space Technology was charged with producing the modular F-35 avionics suite. Data sharing for the F-35 pilot will allow him to relay information to air- and ground-based allies as needed. The Lightning II will be setup with a satellite datalink allowing for Beyond-Line-of-Site (BLOS) communications as well as web-enabled logistical support. The communications suite was developed with the program's foreign partners to ensure a robust and adaptable system between each country's unique production aircraft.

The Lightning II will be fitted with a multi-mission AN/APG-81 series Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system developed by Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems. The system will reportedly supply the F-35 pilot with an added level of situational awareness never seen in a fighter cockpit before as well as be able to detect, track and engage targets on land or in the air at far-reaching ranges than previously available. The radar can be set to act as a passive radar receiver.

The Distributed Infra-Red System (DIRS) is a collection of six internal sensors mounted about the aircraft airframe. What these infra-red implements do is provide an image of the aircraft's surroundings directly into the highly-advanced helmet donned by the pilot. This technology will allow the pilot to "see through" his aircraft at the world around him in infra-red, providing full 360-degree situational awareness.

The inlets of the F-35 have been made as diverterless fixtures. This approach has helped in producing a lighter overall assembly with no moving parts compared to the complex arrangements as found on conventional modern aircraft. These intakes are identifiable by their bulge along the fuselage side to spill off turbulent boundary layer air that builds up along the sides of the intake lips.

A Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS) has found its way into the F-35. Developed by Vision Systems International LLC, the new helmet is billed to be the most advanced such system ever devised. The helmet will negate the need for the cockpit to fit a conventional Heads-Up Display (HUD) system and instead deliver critical mission and systems information directly to the helmet visor. The aircraft need not even be facing the target to track and engage it thanks to this special setup. The cockpit will be dominated by a single large 8"x20" panoramic Multi-Function Display System (MFDS) fitted across the top of the instrument panel. The projection display will be powered by fast processing capabilities and relay real-time information and high-resolution motion imagery to the F-35 pilot. The cockpit will also support Direct Voice Input through a speech recognition system and be fitted with a Martin-Baker US16E ejection seat (becoming common across all three F-35 production variants). Flight control will be through a conventional HOTAS setup with a left-side throttle and a right-side flight stick. Adaptability of the onboard systems is key and, as such, is highly-configurable to the mission at hand - be it air superiority or ground strike.

Propulsion

Primary propulsion for the F-35 is supplied by the Pratt & Whitney F135 turbofan series. A second powerplant - the upgraded F136 - is also being developed but this under a joint General Electric and Rolls-Royce branding. The F135 is an afterburning turbofan system delivering 25,000lbf on dry thrust with up to 42,000lbf on full afterburner. The engine resides within the middle and rear portion of the fuselage. Performance results have netted the F-35 a top speed of Mach 1.67 and a ceiling of up to 60,000 feet. The rate-of-climb remains classified as of this writing. G-limits vary based on variant model with the A-model receiving a 9g limit rating, the B- and C-models with a 7.5g-limit rating. Recent cost cuts have threatened the future of the improved F136 engine, however, so its disbursement in production aircraft remains to be seen. The F136 was consistently appeared on the chopping block for American politicians, only to live another day.

The F-35 also makes use the Lockheed Martin-patented Shaft-Driven Lift Fan (SDLF) to achieve vertical flight. The Lockheed lift-fan of the F-35 was built by Rolls-Royce Corporation of Indiana. The entire lift-fan system is made up of the fan itself, a clutch, two Roll Posts (wing-mounted thrust nozzles for roll control) and the drive shaft connecting the lift-fan to the powerplant while also working in conjunction with the Three Bearing Swivel Module (3BSM) - that is, the thrust vectoring nozzle at the tail of the aircraft. The lift-fan is powered by a two-stage turbine on the engine and works in conjunction with the downward vectored rear exhaust port and Rolls Posts to achieved a balanced lift cycle. The lift fan can generate up to 20,000lbs of lift (almost half of the vertical flight thrust), also providing cooling for downdrafting air compared to previous STOVL offerings. Air flow through the fan is controlled via variable inlet guide vanes.

The Variants - Beginning with the Base F-35A

The F-35 is being developed into three distinct variants for their respective operators. This should go on to prove a cost-cutting gesture as parts commonality is said to be somewhere near 80% across all three airframe types. The avionics suite is said to be near 100% common across the three airframes. Some parts used in the construction also closely resemble others and are referred to as "cousins" in commonality. The program has also stressed that the current F-35 build will be more easily upgradable than previous mounts as new technology comes online, again helping to drive down long term costs of operating, maintaining and upgrading the machine.

The F-35A is the conventional take-off and landing variant, or "CTOL", primarily for use with the United States Air Force but also representing the base export model. The F-35B will be a Short-Take-Off and Vertical Landing variant (STOVL) primarily for the United States Marine Corps and Royal Air Force and Royal Navy while the F-35C will become a conventional yet navalized form for use on aircraft carriers - this known s CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) - solely for use by the United States Navy.

The F-35A will feature an unrefueled range of 1,200 miles without external fuel tanks. The system will be armed with the standard internal 25mm GAU-22/A cannon. All munitions options will be primarily held in internal weapons bays that can house both air-to-air or air-to-surface ordnance or a mix of both. Air superiority armament will center around a pair of AIM-120C AMRAAM medium-range air-to-air missiles. Ground attack support will be made up of a pair of 2,000lb GBU-31 JDAM guided bombs with support for the carrying of up to 8 x GBU-38 bombs as well as current generation TV/laser-guided air-to-surface missiles, guided bombs and munitions dispensing bombs. External weapons pylons will be optional and fitted for sorties where stealth is not a mission requirement. Overall munitions-carrying capability will be limited to 18,000lbs of ordnance. The F-35A features a wing span of 35 feet with an overall length of 50.5 feet and a wing area of 460 square feet. Internal fuel is listed at 18,498lbs.

The STOVL F-35B

The F-35B is noted as the first aircraft of its kind to successfully combine the benefits of stealth technology with the benefits of STOVL capabilities. This will make the F-35B unique amongst any aircraft in history and allow the fighter to land and take-off from virtually any surface on the planet including moving naval ships and unprepared rough airfields and roads. This will further allow the F-35 to operate close to the front lines and deliver its potent payload against entrenched or advancing enemy forces with little limitation in operational range. Inherent range of this F-35 variant is reported from Lockheed to be around 900 miles on internal fuel stores alone. Standard armament will center around a pair of AIM-120C AMRAAM medium-range air-to-air missiles for self-defense. Ground strikes will be amplified by the carrying of 2 x 1,000lb GBU-32 JDAM guided bombs. Like the F-35A, the F-35B will make use of internal bomb bays for ordnance. Additional munitions options will include air-to-surface missiles, munitions dispensers, 6 x GBU-38 bombs and guided bombs. The 25mm GAU-22A Gatling cannon will be fitted into an external pod that will itself feature "stealth" capabilities to maintain the aircraft's low-profile signature. As in the F-35A, the F-35B can also make use of optional underwing external hardpoints to expand upon its mission lethality. Overall munitions-carrying capability will be limited to 15,000lbs of ordnance.

The F-35B is the most unique of the three F-35s. It incorporates the lift fan system, this positioned just aft of the cockpit. The fan is put into action when the pilot sets the aircraft into vertical flight mode for either take-off, hover or landing flight actions. The lift-fan works in conjunction with the positional aft thruster duct which itself is positioned at a downwards angle provide upwards thrust when in the vertical. The lift-fan acts as a counter-balance for the power emitted from the rear jet exhaust while also supplying cooler air into the hot jet wash being generated by the engine nozzle. The engine powers the lift fan via a drive shaft from the front of the engine. Twin Roll Posts control balance and rolling in much the same way the Harrier's vertical flight "puffer" jets worked through its ducted wings and fuselage points. The lift fan is seen in operation when a pair of dorsal and ventral doors are opened. Another set of panels just aft of the lift fan is also opened to provide the needed mass flow to the auxiliary engine. Many moving parts are required to work in unison for the F-35B so it will be interesting to see how the aircraft fends once in operational service. The primary customer of the F-35B is intended to be the USMC, Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and the Italian Navy. The Royal Air Force and Royal Navy have had much success and experience in the fielding of their Cold War-era Harrier jump jets.

The F-35B features a wingspan of 35 feet, a fuselage length of 50.5 feet and a wing area of 460 square feet. Internal fuel is listed at 13,326lbs. It is reported that Lockheed consulted with people at the Russian Yakovlev aircraft firm and purchased some relatable data during the development of the F-35B. Yakovlev had some experience with developing STOVL flight in their limited-production Yak-38 "Forger" for the Soviet Navy and the experimental Yak-141 "Freestyle", also meant for the Soviet Navy.

The Navalized F-35C

The navalized F-35C will become the US Navy's first stealth aircraft when it is inducted into operational service. Past attempts at such an aircraft have come up fruitless (as in the McDonnell Douglas/General Dynamics A-12 Avenger II and the Rockwell XFV-12). As a navalized version of the base F-35, the F-35C will be launched via steam catapults already serving 4th Generation fighter aircraft such as the F/A-18 Hornet. Retrieval will be via conventional arrestor hook-and-wire fielded across the carrier deck. The F-35C will sport a revised and reinforced undercarriage and internal structure for the rigors of carrier operations as well as a larger control surfaces for better low-speed, low-level performance). Folding wings also differentiate this model from the other two F-35s and serve to decrease valuable storage space on America's carriers. Range is expected to be about 1,200 miles on internal fuel alone. Like the other F-35s in the series, the F-35C will also make use of the AIM-120 AMRAAM medium-range air-to-air missile as well as 2 x 2,000lb GBU-31 JDAM guided bombs. 8 x GBU-38 bombs will also be a part of this Lightning II's forte and all ordnance will be stowed within internal bomb bays. Additional armament will include current air-to-surface guided missiles, conventional bombs, munitions dispensers and guided bombs. Munitions-carrying capability will be limited to 18,000lbs of ordnance. Like the F-35B, the F-35C will also mount its 25mm GAU-22A series cannon in an external pod fitting. Measurements of the F-35C include a span of 43 feet, a length of 50.8 feet and a wing area of 620 square feet. Internal fuel is listed at 19,624lbs.

At the time of this writing, the US Navy will be the sole operator of the F-35C variant. It remains to be seen whether this variant will be made available for export to other navies as very few actually operate the large-surface carriers today. Nations such as the UK and Italy usually operate smaller, less-expensive conventional types, capable of fielding the STOVL version of the F-35 instead, as they did with their previous Harriers.

Walk Around

Though the F-35 retains much of the same design philosophy and outward appearance of Lockheed's other 5th generation product (the F-22 Raptor) it is a wholly individual design. It is a smaller and somewhat slower design (less than Mach 2-capable) fitting a single Pratt & Whitney engine though it is refined for the ground strike role comparable to the F/A-18 Hornet and the F-16 Fighting Falcon. The fuselage features angular sharply-tapered edges. The cockpit is situated behind a short nose assembly housing the radar and interestingly sports a forward-hinged two-piece canopy. Seating is for one pilot and no HUDs system tops the forward instrument panel. Intakes are fitted to either side of the fuselage and are slanted to help promote a lesser intrusive forward and side signature. Wings are large-area, high-mounted assemblies with greater sweep along their leading edge and less sweep along the trailing edge. Wings are clipped at the tips and set at about the middle of the airframe. The split intakes feed the single engine housed in the bowels of the fuselage. The jet pipe ends in a single exhaust ring positioned aft. The empennage consists of a pair of outward-angled vertical tail fins with clipped wingtips while the horizontal planes (also clipped at the tips) are fitted at and well past the exhaust ring, giving the F-35 a very unique top-down/bottom-up profile. The undercarriage is retractable and made up of two main single-wheeled landing gear legs recessing into the fuselage sides and a single-wheeled nose landing gear leg recessing forwards under the cockpit floor. Another defining characteristic of the F-35 is the lack of conventional probes and vanes (with the exception of the nose-mounted one), these being held internally to help promote stealth.

Armament

Standard armament for the F-35A will be the GAU-22/A four-barrel 25mm cannon with 180 rounds afforded to the system. The F-35B and F-35C will both feature this same cannon but in an externally-mounted pod and with 220 rounds for the gun. The pod will feature stealth capabilities to not expand the signature of the F-35 airframe. To comply with its stealth requirements, the F-35 will primarily house its ordnance in internal bomb bays. Six optional external underwing pylons will provide the bulk of the weapons payload carrying capability (three stations to a wing with the outboard-most stations reserved for the AIM-9X Sidewinder missile). With the F-35 being more-or-less an international development effort, attention has also been given to making the Lightning II capable with the latest (and some upcoming) munitions available in the UK and NATO arsenals.

Miscellaneous

The F-35 Lightning II is the spiritual successor to the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. The P-38 was a memorable ace-making, twin-boom propeller-driven design seeing combat action in World War 2 across Europe and the Pacific. It is reportedly twice as load as a McDonnell Douglas/Boeing F-15 Eagle at take-off and double that noise during landing actions. Anyone that has heard the F-15 knows just how load the double engine setup can be. However, Lockheed was quick to state that the new F-35 is no more louder than the F-16. This remains to be seen (and heard).

The Indian Air Force may be a potential future F-35 user as might the Indian Navy (for the F-35B). It is though that a Lockheed sale of the F-35 to India is tied to a contingency of India purchasing some F-16 Fighting Falcons first (Lockheed no owns the General Dynamics F-16 brand). Other possible operators may someday be Finland, Brazil, Spain, Greece and South Korea. The US has refused sale to Taiwan for obvious Chinese-related political reasons. As a contributor, it is believed that Israel will eventually field at least 100 F-35A models to replace their aging F-16s in service.

Some potential customers have bypassed the $65 million+ cost of the F-35 Lightning II in favor of advanced 4.5th Generation fighters like the French Dassault Rafale, the Swedish Saab JAS 39 Gripen and the European consortium Eurofighter Typhoon - each capable aircraft in their own right.

Conclusion

If all of what is being reported by Lockheed, its supporters and media releases comes to pass, the F-35 Lightning II will be one exceptional fighter/fighter-bomber platform. It is intended to be leaps ahead of the competition in both air-to-air and air-to-ground roles as well as a superb reconnaissance platform when used in the role. Its stealth capabilities should prove the system highly potent and able to best most any defense in the modern world today. The costs of operating the three-in-one airframe should allow more procurement of the type in the future but this might be wishful thinking at best. It is said that the new F-35 will be cheaper to buy and maintain than the current crop of Cold War fighter-bombers in the US stable. This, however, is a hard fact to believe considering the amount of technology and resources tied to the F-35 project. If anything, such statistics and measurements are nothing more than a sales tool. Time will only tell just what kind of a platform the F-35 will truly be. And until the system is involved in some protracted conflict somewhere on the globe, its lethality will only read well on paper and online reports.