The United Kingdom has awarded a new £161 million contract for the maintenance and support of its F-35 Lightning stealth jet fleet, ensuring readiness for global combat operations.
The investment will be based at RAF Marham, the home of the UK Lightning Force, and is expected to sustain approximately 140 jobs in the country, with 130 positions directly at the Norfolk base and an additional 10 throughout the supply chain.
The Ministry of Defence say here that this move aligns with the Prime Minister’s commitment to bolster the economy by creating better-paying jobs and opportunities across the UK.
This contract succeeds a previous agreement set to end this year and was signed by the US Joint Program Office and Lockheed Martin, the F-35’s prime contractor. BAE Systems will act as a sub-contractor, carrying out the work stipulated in the contract.
Under the terms of the agreement, which runs until 2027, the UK will gain increased operational freedom for its F-35 fleet, as well as additional flying hours and crucial mission planning, training, and maintenance capabilities. BAE Systems will also continue to provide pilot and groundcrew training, along with other essential services such as ejection seat and canopy maintenance workshops, a “Pilot fit facility” for fitting aircrew flying equipment, and a component spray facility for transferring coatings onto aircraft parts.
Minister for Defence Procurement, Alex Chalk KC, was quoted as saying:
“Our F-35 Lightning stealth jets are a formidable fighting force, putting us at the cutting-edge of air-borne military capability. Supporting more than 100 jobs in the East of England, this investment will ensure our jets remain equipped for combat operations around the world.”
You can read more here.
‘Under the terms of the agreement, which runs until 2027, the UK will gain increased operational freedom for its F-35 fleet, as well as additional flying hours and crucial mission planning, training, and maintenance capabilities.‘
– Emphasis added.
The U.K. rents them?
Lockheed Martin insist that much of the software in the plane belongs to them, not the countries that paid for it. When the ALIS system didn’t work properly and the US wanted to replace it with their own system,LM refused access. In the end, LM were paid again to develop a fix called ODIN. The core code remains under LM control which is why UK cannot itself integrate Spear 3 and Mereor. Given that and looking at the hourly support cost, it is almost like renting the aircraft.. Unacceptable, given that UK paid $2b for F35 development up front.
I found this post on Janes, it appears they are making very good progress.
“KAI has stated they plan to add an internal weapons bay in the future, and they have protected that potential location. They expect this fighter has good bones, and will be the basis for decades of improvements and updates.”
Pushing the envelope: KF-21 achieves additional milestones05 APRIL 2023
“The second KAI KF-21 fighter aircraft prototype launches a mid-range Meteor air-to-air missile during the aircraft’s armament testing flight on 28 March 2023. (DAPA)”
LINK
The second KAI KF-21 fighter aircraft prototype launches a mid-range Meteor air-to-air missile during the aircraft’s armament testing flight on 28 March 2023. (DAPA)
https://www.airdatanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/KF21_02.jpg
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Any news on the F-35B Meteor testing yet? This decade or next?
2027 if you had the wit to use google.
We already have a 4th generation fighter equipped with Meteor, so the KF-21 is nothing new 🥱
It’s 4.5 gen and the Meteors date has slipped to 2027 if you had the wit to use Google. 😂 “Meteor was assigned a place in the Followon Development Programme by the F-35 Joint Programme Office and contracts were awarded to Lockheed Martin in the early summer. “However, entry into service is not anticipated to be until 2027 and there is a possibility that integration pressures in the programme may incur further delays because of challenges in the wider F-35 programme.” Hence the reason for me asking you the question “Any news on the F-35B Meteor testing yet? This decade… Read more »
2027? I thought it wasn’t coming until block 4 which I think is now been moved to 2029. I could be wrong though.
You’re not! I was awaiting a further reply from Mr know it all. Meteor “A cooperative development between France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, headed by MBDA leading a group of European industrial partners to meet the needs of the six European nations, the ‘game changer’ Meteor BVRAAM is widening its customer’s portfolio. In addition to the mentioned European customers, the Meteor is finding success in the Middle East, South America, and the Far East, having been procured by Qatar, Brazil, Greece, and the UAE. In 2019 Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) awarded MBDA a contract to integrate… Read more »
It appears things are moving along quickly in that part of the world.
Chinese WS-15 engine prepared for mass production
07 APRIL 2023
LINK
If the engine upgrades work and we can afford them of course. “Kendall also noted the military had serious doubts about GE’s ability to make its adaptive engine work in the F-35B, the Marine Corps variant. “The Air Force, with the A variant, was the only service that was really seriously interested in AETP, for which it was a really good fit,” Kendall said. “There was some discussion about whether it could be made to go in the [Navy and Marine Corps’ carrier-based] C variant. But the Marine Corps variant was going to be very, very difficult, if not impossible.”… Read more »
No such this as 4.5 Gen 🤦🏻♂️ I said 2027, maybe you should read a comment before you attempt to string words together for a reply? You also seem to be completely unaware aware of a prototype aircraft achieving a first test firing (KA-21 in 2023) and an operational combat aircraft being able to field it in action (F25 in 2021). Its doubtful the KF-21 will even be operational by 2028 so your attempted point scoring against the F35 is utterly ridiculous. Or perhaps you’re being disingenuous in trying to equate the two given your long-running sad little obsession over… Read more »
Try telling that to Wikipedia and the USA for starters 😂 You really are a clown 😂 “Due to the dramatic enhancement of capabilities in these upgraded fighters and in new designs of the 1990s that reflected these new capabilities, they have come to be known as 4.5 generation. This is intended to reflect a class of fighters that are evolutionary upgrades of the fourth generation incorporating integrated avionics suites, advanced weapons efforts to make the (mostly) conventionally designed aircraft nonetheless less easily detectable and trackable as a response to advancing missile and Radar technology Inherent airframe design features exist and… Read more »
OMG is so embarrassing watching someone display their ignorance so publicly. You actually believe everything you read on Wikipedia as being gospel? Clearly you’ve not heard the story of the “inventor of the electric toaster”… https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/the-reporters-63622746.amp You’ll notice my link works, unlike yours. So there’s no way to tell if you even found that text on Wikipedia 🤦🏻♂️ I notice you have omitted that • the USA has denied South Korea export licenses for 4 key technologies used by the F35 for use in the KF-21 • that Indonesia has been late on making payments and has been trying to… Read more »
No such thing as a four-and-a-half generation fighter 😂 😂 Have you learned anything yet? 😂Clearly, you have more knowledge on toasters 😂 😂 😂 “The F-22 and F-35 are so-called “fifth-generation fighters” mainly due to their use of stealth technology. A “four-and-a-half” generation fighter generally means a non-stealthy fighter with fifth-generation tech inside.” 6 Mar 2023 “The KF-21 is a 4.5-generation, supersonic, semi-stealth fighter jet known best for its high agility and low maintenance costs, which will be mass-produced starting in 2026.” First flight 15 December 2006 (F-35A) and still no sign of Meteor! “You’ll notice my link works, unlike yours. So… Read more »
Congratulations you finally mastered the art of copying a url from a browser address bar and paste in in a comment. You’re only 30 years behind everyone else.. 😂 4.5 gen is a great marketing ploy if you’re trying to sell an aircraft that’s obsolete before it’s even flown, such as the KF-21. As to whether it ever goes into production… It’s hilarious watching you try and justify your comparison. Of course the F35 in 2006 couldn’t fire a Meteor missile… it didn’t exist! The Meteor only entered service in 2016. Seems you don’t understand the concept of chronology either… Read more »
“4.5 gen is a great marketing ploy” You really are full of it 😂 As for entering service! “It’s hilarious watching you try and justify your comparison. Of course the F35 in 2006 couldn’t fire a Meteor missile… it didn’t exist!” “On 9 September 2005 the first flight of Meteor on board a French Navy F2 standard Rafale M was successfully carried out from Istres, France.” 😂 “The first flight of Meteor was in 2005, from a French Navy Rafale F2. Gripen and Typhoon firings have also been completed as part of the extended development programme. Since then, development has continued and… Read more »
Well it’s pretty obvious now that you’re prepared to deliberately be dishonest in your flailing attempts to justify your indefensible claims. I say this because not even you could possibly be so stupid as to think a test firing of a missile is equivalent to its entry into service.
As you believe Wikipedia is the font of all knowledge, you’ll see that in the Service History section, it gives an in service date of… 2016
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteor_(missile)
Do keep trying to deflect your published blunders. It just shows up more and more of your character defects.
Which bit of “ it didn’t exist!” are you failing to understand?
I’ll let others on here read your posts and see what a complete fool you’ve made of yourself.
Any news on the cost and timeframe of the engine upgrades required for Block 4 yet? There is such a thing as Block 4 in case you were unsure 😂😂
LINK
Any news on EJ200 engine upgrades? Surely the Typhoon will need similar engine improvements to generate more electrical power for future upgrades such as ECRS MK2 and the many other improvements coming to Typhoon? IOC 2030? Any links to concrete news, cost and timescales would be welcome.
The other clown in the room has woken up😂 It’s called Tempest set to replace Typhoon and the power upgrade for Typhoon has been around for some time and offered to India as I recall! The EJ2x0 with 20% growth compared to the original EJ200. The EJ2x0 engine will increase dry thrust to some 72 kN (or 16,200 lbf) with a reheated output of around 103 kN (or 23,100 lbf). Stage 2: The new engine plan to increase the output 30% more power compared to the original EJ200. The engine will have dry thrust of around 78 kN (or 17,500… Read more »
I wonder if the new engines will be installed 😂
UK builds momentum on combat air programme with demonstrator set to fly within five years
“A new flying demonstrator will be unveiled within the next five years as part of the UK’s Future Combat Air System (FCAS).”
LINK
Great news isn’t it. Still a million miles away from your announcement that 6th gen would be in operational service from 2025 😄 That still cracks me up.
Still telling lies as per, did you think I hadn’t kept this? Another very sad tosser reduced to telling lies and behaving like a child when proven to be wrong. Any chance of growing up??? ROBERT BLAY Caught red-handed again telling porkies to cover up his lack of knowledge on any given subject to gain some credibility filled with cheap comments to fill in the gaps. How very sad. January 15 2023 19:43 “I think this article explains it in plain enough English for you Nigel from a reputable website. I know you love a link. Or do you still think… Read more »
Another botch job on the way, I wonder how this will work out 😂 Navy League 2023: DoD explores accelerated F-35 weapons integration 10 APRIL 2023 “JPO officials are weighing alternatives, from modernising current weapon test plans to issuing rapidly integrated clearances or interim clearances for weapon systems, to dramatically ramp up weapons integration into F-35. The effort is “a huge focus area” for the programme officials, said F-35 Program Executive Officer US Air Force Lieutenant General Michael Schmidt. “When I look at what are some of the limiting factors to weapons integration for all the Block 4 [variant] capabilities,… Read more »
What it proves is that you are a liar plain and simple, like you. Stay off the bottle and try educating yourself instead of looking like a complete …. on here. “We’ve already built and flown a full-scale flight demonstrator in the real world, and we broke records in doing it,” Will Roper told Defense News in an exclusive interview The development is certain to shock the defense community, which last saw the first flight of an experimental fighter during the battle for the Joint Strike Fighter contract 20 years ago. With the Air Force’s future fighter program still in… Read more »
Keeping this says far more about you than it does me. 😄 You got so excited when the USAF announced it had a 6th gen demonstrator flying. And you said we shouldn’t bother buying more F35’s because 6th gen will be available from 2025. How thick do you get. You know nothing defence Nigel. Just a sad man glued to a PC night and day. You don’t even know what a demonstrator actually means. Bet you was that sad lad who fell for the glass hammer joke 😄
Show me the MOD funding line and official announcement for RAF Typhoon EJ200 engine upgrade??
I’m well aware of the EJ200’s thrust growth potential. I dont need to look it up. But is the MOD funding the engine upgrade for RAF Typhoons? Simple question Nigel.
You’re the one failing to understand that the F35 couldn’t perform test firings of a missile in 2006 that didn’t exist. You think it’s some falling of the F35 programme 😆 I look forward to the contributions of Airborne, Gunbuster, Danielle, Farouk, etc. My knowledge is limited to what I can read in the public domain, or from the small amount of specialist defence work my company does. These individual’s can all contribute first-hand knowledge and experience, which is why I come here. What I don’t come here for is Russian trolls like JohnInMK, the Kremlin’s “useful idiots” like George… Read more »
Confirmed if it needed to be.
“Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them. People with this disorder may lack the ability to understand or care about the feelings of others.”
Sense of self-importance.
Interpersonally exploitative for their own gain.
Preoccupation with power or success.
Entitled.
Arrogant.
Lack empathy.
Thanks for sharing your psychological evaluation, I’m sorry I didn’t realise I was dealing with such a damaged personality. I sincerely hope you get the treatment you need.
Well said.
That’s a weak argument Nigel. That’s like me saying the Eurofighter Typhoons first flight was March 1994, but Meteor wasn’t declared operational until December 2018 with the RAF on Typhoon. And still hasnt fully replaced AMRAAM on the Typhoon force. Pictures of RAF Typhoon FGR4s released just the other day as part of Op Shader still had AMRAAM fitted. But in the real world that isn’t a fair argument. Weapons integration is a complicated task, for any fast jet. The lack of ECRS MK 2 on Typhoon is a more pressing matter, and one that seems to be taking forever.… Read more »
This is a new one on me. It has a nasty “Ajax” smell to it.
To some extent, defence suppliers usually have some residual control over the products they sell. Continued supply of spare parts is a key condition of any well negotiated contract. But the level to which LM have raised this dependency is worrying. At one point, UK threatened to pull out of the F35 programme because of denial of access to the core code. We were told this was resolved but not exactly how. It also seems that Israel, not a tier one investing partner like the UK, was granted greater access. It’s not just LM. The Chinook software shambles was on… Read more »
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“Development of TR-3 is now not expected to be finished until April 2024, a year later than expected. Lockheed Martin is hoping to be able to finish the work sooner, perhaps by December of this year, according to Schmidt.
He further clarified that this goal is defined as being able to support TR-2-equivalent capabilities on a representative TR-3-configured aircraft. The additional Block 4 upgrade package is not currently expected to roll out until 2029.”
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/f-35-engine-running-too-hot-due-to-under-speccing-upgrade-now-vital
The bungled software for the Chinooks wasn’t Boeing’s fault; for a change.
It was because the MoD decided to contract another firm on the cheap, instead of paying Boeing the going rate, to modify Boeing’s flight control firmware. Any software engineer will tell you such an approach is highly ill-advised.
Yet this is exactly what some people on here are advocating for the UK’s F35s 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
And then oddly nobody would sign it off!
Post Haddon Cave they couldn’t just busk it anymore with vague grandfathering rules.
The aircraft were then marooned in a hangar until all the bespoke stuff was ripped out and they were returned to type certified spec – which is how they fly today.
And you can’t blame them refusing to sign-off such an ill-advised cheap-skating bodge as being airworthy.
The loss of XV230 should have been a bigger wake-up call – the MR4A should have been cancelled then.
It’s not just the military though, the grandfathering of prior certification was behind the entire Boeing 737 Max 8 debacle.
That was the real reason for MRA4 being cancelled?
Even if all the issues could have been resolved which they might have been the costs of certification for a tiny group of cobbled together aircraft were potentially eye watering and there might well have been a resultant cascade of issues to resolve.
No I don’t think so, but it must have been a contributing mark in the minuses column I would have thought. As BAe discovered after winning the contract the airframes all varied greatly and were not built to a common standard.
Safety certification would have been a nightmare even if all the technology related issues had been resolved. As it was, it was grounded for safety concerns when the project was cancelled.
Another case of the MoD trying to do things on the cheap.
Yes, sure, the airframes were quite individualistic but that issue had been constructionally overcome.
The issue was how do you type certify *nine* different types dressed up as one type?
Once you started to unpick that it was a total nightmare!
Exactly. Actual construction is one thing, but certifying the resulting construction is another. You’re potentially looking at doing it for all 9 on an individual basis.
Even after the construction work done to get around the inconsistencies, literally hundreds of design differences still existed, and safety checks in 2010 identified uncertainty over the safety of the landing gear and the fuel pipe.
Essentially they were scrapped because they would have never passed certification with the MAA. And that would have been an even greater embarrassment.
Just out of interest why does the MOD always trash aircraft/equipment after they cancel it. What is wrong with keeping prototypes or old aircraft after use for museums etc. fairly rotodyne, TR2, nimrod etc etc all crushed as soon as cancelled and all associated jigs/manufacturing templates etc. seems very odd means we have to re invent the wheel later in. Surely securing said stuff in a warehouse is not that expensive.
Nimrod there was nothing worth keeping.
The electronics kit and engines were stripped and the bare frames disposed of.
TSR2 was kept there is one at Cosworth.
Warehousing examples in a usable state is massively expensive – they need to be regularly maintained.
We have two £3 biilion pound carriers, one of which is out of commission for how long; a handful of F35’s and even fewer pilots; an AEW system which is at best doubtful and an overall shortage of helicopters. So another brilliant UK defence programme. I will no doubt be shot down within moments for daring to say that twenty years, which is what it’s going to be, is way too long to achieve even one fully operational strike carrier and that’s assuming that the RAF release the ‘planes for carrier use. To look at what we could have bought… Read more »
What other STOVL aircraft is available ?
Why do we need anything else?
F35B is street ahead of anything Russia (stops laughing just long enough to type) has or will ever have.
Sea Fury ? 😁😁
Unfortunately David that opens up a whole new lot of questions. My argument is really quite simple. Given how dangerous the world has become we should be moving ahead as quickly as we are able and not accepting that 2030/2035 is alright.
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You’re far from alone in being frustrated by the delays in procuring F35’s for RAF/RN but for once that’s not UK MoD’s fault. We chose STOVL carriers which means it’s B’s or nothing. Hopefully the programme is back on track but that’s out of our hands.
We now have to stick with our decision as you say. The F35/Carrier project is indicative of almost everything we do. Cut back, delay, trim numbers, fitted for bur not equipped, it just carries on and on. Drives me nuts.😁
You must have a serious birth defect if you think 26 is “a handful”… 😳
We’ve had a fully operational carrier since ‘21 or did you miss the entire CSG21 deployment to the Pacific? It was only in the news for 8 months…
The RAF don’t “release the planes for carrier use”. It’s a joint RAF & RN force, like the Harriers before them. And they both take orders from the MoD and the CDS.
No we haven’t had a FULLY operational carrier since 21. We have had the ability to deploy just 8 UK F 35s no better armed than the Sea Harrier and managed to lose 1 of them, through incompetence. The carriers were designed to operate 36 F35s to deliver a sortie rate comparable to a US carrier. We are years away from that and may never achieve the ambition. We have boxed ourselves in to a single aircraft type and will have to pay whatever LM demand. If our ambition had been properly thought through, we could have built a ship… Read more »
Oh the idiots are out today… CSG21 fielded a fully operational carrier, with 8 of our F35Bs and 10 F35Bs from an ally, resulting in the largest 5th generation fighter wing ever deployed on a carrier. (Just because you don’t have friends doesn’t mean the U.K. doesn’t.) As for the ludicrous comparison between the Harrier and the F35 🤦🏻♂️ We don’t “have to pay whatever LM demand”. You clearly know nothing of the F35 costs or how the orders are placed with LM. In future before going off on a rant I suggest you actually do some reading if the… Read more »
No rant involved, just real concern based on facts. You on the other hand appear to have forgotten your medication, again. I am perfectly aware of CSG21. The fact that we could deploy just 8 UK F35s shows how far short of the original ambition we are, 15 years after the carrier contracts were signed and 19 years after we committed to the F35B. We are quite dependent on LM for any future purchases and for support and upgrade of existing aircraft. They control the timescale and will largely dictate prices(Ben Wallace has publicly expressed his concern about both cost… Read more »
Seriously, you’re complaining we don’t regain a capability the moment after contracts are signed? 🤦🏻♂️ And it’s laughable that you complain that we are dependent on LM for “for any future purchases and for support and upgrade of existing aircraft”. That’s the case for EVERY modern aircraft, with the exception of museum and history aircraft. Fighter jets aren’t something your local mechanic can have a go at fixing. And you of just plainly factually wrong about F35B being no better armed than the Sea Harrier. A typical max load-out as demonstrated during WESTLANT19 could consist of: • 6 x 500lb… Read more »
8 F35Bs on a QEC is a capability unmatched since Ark Royal, 45 years ago.
The later Ark Royal could barely sustain 8 sorties a day during Bosnia with 8 Sea Harriers.
As always you are not adult enough to enter a discussion without insults so I think we’ll leave it at that.
As usual you’ve proven to be a pompous ass who’d rather let rant with ridiculous and plainly false statements, then gets upset when these get called out.
Ah bless. are we upset then.
Stop projecting. Just because you’re getting your knickers in a twist doesn’t mean I am.
Why should I get upset? While you throw random insults, I PROVE that you’re an idiot. Quite frankly it’s been so been so easy pointing out how stupid your comments are that it’s all become rather boring. (But then you’re probably a pretty boring person.)
I rest my case.
You can’t rest something that doesn’t exist 😆
You’re like Putin, too stupid to realise when you’ve lost 😏
😴
Spot on 👍
Thank you Nigel🙂
A classic example!
“A narcissist is never sorry because he (or she) perceives himself as perfect. He can’t be wrong. He views himself as superior to everyone and, thus, always right.”
Describing yourself there Niggle? 😆
😉
With a touch of thrown-in for good measure.
“Ultimately, there is no pleasing an egomaniac. You need to just take a step back and walk in the other direction. No amount of explaining or talking will ever get your point across.
They are unable to see beyond their own nose.”
Got to agree and disagree with your post Geoff. The carrier capability takes time, certainly in todays environment. Its however a 50 year plus capability so well worth the wait. As for “handful” of F35s, a few more than a handful and more than most. The AEW is a concern, and a small number of Merlins is something many of us have been mentioning for a long time. However Defence in general has been neglected, for the last 20 years, by ALL countries across the globe. Some are quicker and more reactive to the current ongoing crisis but modern technology… Read more »
No argument with what you say my friend. Defence always takes a back seat even though it should be a priority for any government.. I’ve just replied to David and as I said to him it’s the frustration of seeing one programme after another slide or cut that is so frustrating.
Maybe I used the wrong word when I said released. What I meant was that the small number of ‘planes available cannot be in two places at once. If we were at war we couldn’t be fully operational with both carriers and RAF usage as well.
Israel did a deal and they, uniquely, have access to the code and are able to modify it to suit their own requirements.
You have to wonder what the “increased operational freedom” is.
Obviously the ability to wipe out the entire Russian air farce in even less time than it would currently take. 😆
” increased operational freedom ”
A concept that your Russian military comrades are also baffled by.
Good for them, as for increased operational freedom, have a guess, its the ability to deploy and upgrade, with minimum interference for the US, which is a good things as it may enable the death and destruction of more terrorists and terrorist organisations and the ability to reduce the possible future Russian threat to scrap metal and body bags even quicker. Do you have an issue with that?
It’s simple. Lockheed Martin continue to develop and upgrade the F35, including its software. If another country has access to the source code then it could modify it to add features and support its own weapons. But by forking the code like this, it could potentially stop the integration of any further improvements from LM in both software and hardware. Israel has paid extra for the rights to do this, but they’re committing themselves to ongoing extra costs. I suspect this is a heavy price that Israel is prepared to pay to have a stealth jet to avoid Iranian air-defences… Read more »
When it’s put like that Israel may be stuck with the software the aircraft are delivered with. Really depends how the modifications have been done and can they easily be moved to block 4 software.
I really hope tempest can use software that’s a lot easier to modify and use. It’s been a long time since the F35 computer codes were worked out so fingers crossed. Just looking at PCs and phones from the 1990s compared to 2020s, the changes are staggering.
I suspect they might be, it depends on how modular the software is. Even then, given that TR3 and Block4 is essentially both new hardware and software, I suspect the Israelis will either have to stick with what they have… or completely redo their own modifications after installing Block 4.
Given F35s are likely to lead any future strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, the Israelis will regard this as a small price to pay for thwarting Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Sounds very plausible. Plus I think Israel has a disproportionate influence on all US Governments, and can achieve concessions and favours on the qt that other countries would not achieve. Mind you, in some areas of defence eg sub manufacturing support, Trident support, first dibs on Tomahawk sales, the UK gets unique assistance and concessions from the Yanks.
Israel does get disproportionate assistance from the U.S. due to the Jewish lobby and that fact it has so many enemies in the region, as witnessed by past wars. However, the U.K. does have a closer integration with the US military at an operational level in addition to special assistance re weapons development and procurement.
Whatever the technical merits of locking the core code, it is undeniable that LM have found a better way than bribery to keep revenues flowing in.
The technical merits are blatantly obvious, I just explained them. 🤦🏻♂️
And is nothing to do with revenue, air forces aren’t obliged to pay for upgrades once they’ve bought their aircraft. 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
In fairness to LM when you buy a computer with Windows 10 on it – you do not have access to the code of Windows 10. It would have to be a form of Open Source for that. Still take your point it is bad value for money
Many thanks Peter for the factual information.
Slightly off topic, but obviously connected, is there any information about the result of the RFI issued over 2 years ago for an EMALS type system that could be used to launch ” air vehicles from a suitable ship” as early as 2023?