Page 45 - Renorming of Airpower: The F-35 Enters the Combat Fleet

The Renorming of Airpower: The F-35 Arrives into the Combat Force

FIGURE 9 CAMERI F-35 SITE GRAPHIC

The program has built in a global sustainment capability from the ground up, which allows for the clear
possibility of shaping a very different approach to global sustainment. Programs developed first for the US,
which then add global customers, face a significant parts and support problem because there was never a
thought of building in a global sustainment approach.
The Italians have already built a regional sustainment center in Italy for Europe and Med operations. And
operationally, a global fleet will provide significant opportunities for innovation by the U.S. and its partners in
building out a new combat approach around distributed operations.
There are 9 key elements built into the aircraft were identified as defining the baseline aircraft which are
leveraged to help shape a global enterprise.

• A new cockpit and helmet which enable the pilot to function as a tactical decision maker;
• A fusion engine which brings together and integrates the core combat systems on the F-35;
• The fusion engines are designed to share information across the combat enterprise, or put in other

terms each plane is synergy enabled;
• The plane is built as a weapon system built on a foundational architecture of chip and software

upgradeability;
• The software is built to shape a mangeable workload for the pilot;
• Stealth is built into the aircraft and is a core enabler for the entire aircraft;
• As a flying combat system, the F-35’s advanced agility is a key enabler of combat operations;
• The power plant of the F-35 enables a long term growth strategy for the fusion engine. Unlike

unmanned aircraft, where the power plant is devoted to flying the aircraft resulting in less than
optimal sensor and weapons loading, the F-35 has significant growth possibilities;
• The F-35 can fire a full gamut of legacy weapons but lays the foundation for the next generation of
weapons as well.
The key point is that these 9 key elements are the same for all three variants of the aircraft, and are common
throughout the three U.S. military services buying the aircraft as well as allies buying those aircraft as well.

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