some F35 info (2 Viewers)

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Supply chain issues are affecting everyone industry wide. There is only so much material and parts to go around.

 

[GTX]

For an aircraft that first flew 17 years ago, the production rate does seem abysmal. Is the F-35 made of unobtanium ?

The last few years they have been producing around 150/yr. It was slower early on as their was concurrent development. Also don't be misled by the first flew date - that is somewhat meaningless. Real production only really began about a decade ago and even then it has been in "Low Rate Inital Production" (LRIP) since. Larger production rates could have been done especially if JPO (primarily the US Govt) allowed multi year production contracts. Remember also that something like 1000 have been produced to date.

 

[SaparotRob]

Supply chain issues are affecting everyone industry wide. There is only so much material and parts to go around.

If only bleeding edge aircraft could be built out of BS. There's so much available.

 

[cvairwerks]

The production rate was never envisioned to be over 175 a/c a year......

 

[Admiral Beez]

The production rate was never envisioned to be over 175 a/c a year......

Good to know. Are they reaching or exceeding that?

 

[cvairwerks]

Full rate production was designated as 156 aircraft delivered per year. Note, aircraft delivery and fly away is different. Delivery is defined by what's know as a DD250 document, meaning transfer of ownership from the company to the government. Some time after DD250, the a/c is then flown away.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Well, it took fifty-two years from 1972 until today to produce less than 2,000 F-15 Eagles of all sorts (F-15A/B/C/D/J/DJ/E).

So, if we can see the 2,000th F-35 by 2058, fifty-two years after the first production Lightning rolled off the line in Dec 2006 that will be on about par.

I'll be 87 years old then, if I'm lucky.