http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articl ... -gulf.html
F-35 Flight Operations in Arabian Gulf
(Source: U.S. Marine Corps; issued Jan 03, 2019)
ARABIAN GULF --- A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU),
takes off from the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2), on Jan. 3, 2019.
(EDITOR’S NOTE:
Since the first announcement of the F-35’s first combat mission in Afghanistan on Sept. 28,
the US Navy has gone strangely silent on the F-35 aircraft based aboard the amphibious ship USS Essex.
From time to time, news items are posted indirectly providing some information.
In the item above, for example, reveals that the ship is now operating in the Arabian (Persian) Gulf,
whereas it was previously steaming in the Arabian Sea.
No further news on what its F-35Bs are doing, however,
but there have been no reports of any combat missions since Sept. 28 – over three months ago.)
http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articl ... hours.html
Innovation In Tight Spaces
(Source: U.S. Air Force; issued Jan 03, 2019)
The current guidelines used for aircraft maintenance required
that the entire engine be removed,
which would require at least 36 hours per jet. (Emphasis added—Ed.) Furthermore, engine trailers and tool boxes would need to be transported to the location, extending the timeline.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The above US Air Force release does not include any news of note,
but does reveal the surprising fact that it takes “at least 36 hours” to remove an F-35A engine
– and presumably another 36 hours to replace it.
This is an unheard-of amount of time,
since modern aircraft are designed to facilitate maintenance
by making the most frequent operations as fast, and as economical, as possible.
But this is clearly not the case with the F-35,
and the 72 hours required to swap its engine partly explain
the lifetime operating cost of over $1 trillion estimated
for the 2,700-odd F-35s that the Pentagon is expected to order.