Page 62 - Australian Defence Magazine Feb-Mar 2023

62 AIRPOWER F-35A LIGHTNING II
FEBRUARY-MARCH 2023 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
XA100 and XA101 engines. Whichever company is selected – if and when the US Government decides to go ahead with the program – the new engine will feature advanced manu- facturing technology to deliver increased thrust, decreased fuel consumption and improved heat management features.
In the meantime, Lockheed Martin for its part has been experimenting with the US military in using the F-35 as a sensor node in the Joint All Domain Control and Com- mand (JADC2) – or Joint All Domain Operations (JADO) – concept of future warfare.
“The idea is that there’s a future world out there where, if you’re an F-35 pilot, the only contribution you’re going to make to the battle construct is to supply an incredibly accurate set of target coordinates that some other effector
will act upon,” Over opined.
He said that recent experiments “ACCORDING TO LOCKHEED
conducted with the US Navy on the White Sands missile range in MARTIN, OVER $3 BILLION
New Mexico, using a land-based OF CONTRACTS HAVE
Aegis fire control system in con- BEEN AWARDED TO LOCAL
junction with an unmodified US INDUSTRY”
Marine Corps F-35B successfully engaged a low-radar cross sec- tion BQM-170 drone. During the test, the F-35B supplied the Aegis system with a target track via its Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL), allowing the stealthy drone to be de-
stroyed by a surface-launched SM-6 missile.
“When F-35s are communicating with one another over
the MADL network, the pilots are not asking for this to happen, the airplanes are just forming a tactical picture automatically,” Over added. “The incredible capability of the F-35 is that it knows where everything is and it’s re- ally good at identifying assets in the battlespace. Austra- lia has the luxury of large strategic assets like Wedgetail, which has the reputation of being one of the best command and control platforms in the world. It’s a fabulous capabil-
ABOVE: The first F-35As were delivered to RAAF Williamtown in December 2018
ity [and] can F-35s augment its air battle picture? Without question.”
Lockheed Martin also sees the F-35s capabilities as a key component of the Commonwealth’s Joint Air Battle Man- agement System (JABMS) proposed under Air 6500 Phase 1 and, further into the future, it will closely integrate with the semi-autonomous, uncrewed MQ-28A Ghost Bat ‘Loy- al Wingman’ airpower teaming system being developed by Boeing Defence Australia. (ADM Senior Correspondent Julian Kerr reveals more details of the Australian MQ-28A program on page 80 of this issue).
Between now and then the forthcoming Defence State- gic Review, an unclassified version of which is expected to be made available to the public over the life of this issue of ADM, will consider options for RAAF’s future air combat capability.
Prior to the DSR, the Commonwealth had been consid- ering options for a further 18 F-35s, taking the total to the originally foreseen total of 100 aircraft, but it remains to be seen if this will now come to pass.
“The DSR will consider the priority of investment in De- fence capabilities and assess the ADF’s structure, posture and preparedness in order to optimise Defence capability and posture to meet the nation’s security challenges over the next decade and beyond,” the Defence spokesperson said in answer to ADM’s specific question on the matter.
If the DSR does recommend further F-35s, it will be a ring- ing endorsement of the aircraft’s current capabilities and its future growth path beyond Final Operational Capability. ■
Disclaimer: The writer travelled to Fort Worth as a guest of Lockheed Martin.
NIGEL PITTAWAY