Chris Pocock has been covering the defense beat for AIN for over 30&nbsp;years. He is a British citizen and a graduate of the University of Cambridge. Chris worked in the air cargo business for ten years before becoming a full-time writer in 1983. He subsequently edited two air cargo journals before becoming AIN’s Defense Editor. He retired from that position in 2018, but still contributes to the publication. Chris has written extensively on aerial reconnaissance, including four books on the history of the U-2 spyplane. He also lectures on this and other topics related to intelligence-gathering in the Cold War.

Defense Correspondent

Chris Pocock

It’s not just about stealth. Sensor fusion is also a key aspect of the F-35. With no second crew member, and the traditional head-up display replaced by a sophisticated helmet-mounted display, this combat jet is very different from all that have gone before. It has over nine million lines of code. Five air system software releases precede the definitive one.


The new generation fighter has been a long time coming – 15 years since Lockheed Martin won the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) evaluation, and three years behind the original schedule. Along the way, many have doubted whether it was wise to try and meet three distinct airpower requirements with one basic airframe. The demanding short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) requirement for the F-35B part-caused led to a major weight crisis that affected the land-based F-35A and carrier-based F-35C versions too.


&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2016-02-16/f-35-report-card-gives-thumbs-down-block-buy">Our summary</a> of the latest report on the F-35 by the U.S. Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&amp;E) is a reality-check on progress. Affordability is a big issue, as we <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2015-06-12/lockheed-martin-follows-blueprint-drive-down-f-35-costs">discussed here</a> for the airframe, <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2015-06-10/criticism-spurs-pratt-drive-down-f135-costs">and here</a> for the engine. Concurrency is a third major concern: early production aircraft must be retrofitted with <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2014-04-08/us-deputy-program-manager-outlines-f-35-fixes">structural fixes</a>.


Inevitably, though, an aircraft designed in three very different versions will be complicated and controversial. The <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2015-07-31/marines-make-fighter-history-declare-f-35b-combat-capable">first to go operational</a> was the F-35B of the U.S. Marine Corps&nbsp;last summer. The U.S. Air Force F-35A is due to follow later this year, and the U.S. Navy F-35C <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2014-11-03/f-35c-makes-first-arrested-landing-us-navy-carrier">in 2019</a>.


The most problematic part of the program appears to have been the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS), as <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2016-04-21/gao-questions-deployability-redundancy-f-35-alis-system">our recent report</a> makes clear. The helmet-mounted display (HMD) was <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2014-02-08/f-35-test-pilots-will-begin-flying-gen-helmet-display">threatened with replacement</a>, but has <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2015-08-12/rockwell-collins-delivers-first-gen-3-helmet-display-f-35">now been confirmed</a>. An engine rubbing problem that prevented the F-35’s international debut in mid-2014 <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2015-04-06/pratt-whitney-rolls-out-engine-fix-f-35-fighter-fleet">was fixed</a> nine months later.


Eight nations signed up as partners on the F-35 program, but <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2015-11-23/affordability-still-major-issue-f-35-program">some have expressed doubts</a>, and considered alternatives. Israel, Japan and Korea are also customers. Most recently, Denmark <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2016-05-12/denmark-confirms-f-35-after-evaluating-fighter-alternatives">reconfirmed its choice</a> but (as with the Dutch) for lower numbers. Of course, there are industrial benefits, such as <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2015-03-16/first-italian-f-35a-rolls-out-international-activity-builds">a production line</a> in Italy. A few months ago, we ran <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2016-02-15/australian-air-force-must-make-careful-f-35-choices">this story</a> about how Australia is preparing for its jets.&nbsp;

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

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News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

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