Page 27 - Leverage and Learn

Leverage Allied Investments and Combat Learning Experience in Modernizing the U.S. Military

Allies and Weapons: European Industry Provides Capabilities in Shaping
a Way Ahead for Fifth Generation Enabled Air Combat
2017-07-28 By Robbin Laird

The coming of the F-35 provides a significant opportunity to leverage the investment efforts of core allies as is
happening in the UK with 5th Gen weapons such as Meteor and SPEAR 3:

F-35 as a global enterprise – the 9-Nation MOU encourages US allies in the program to invest in core
capabilities for the benefit of the JSF partnership – Meteor and SPEAR 3 are examples of this;

F-35 is the bedrock for high end warfare and 5th generation weapons such as Meteor/SPEAR 3 will help
maximize coalition capabilities with direct benefit to the US services in the joint fight;

The integration of 5th Gen weapons such as Meteor onto 4th Gen platforms also enables the allies to better
utilize their whole combat air force, not just their 5th Gen platforms.

For the US, this path opens up a number of options; one example is the potential interoperability of UK and
USMC F-35Bs afloat where jets would be able to fly from each other’s decks with whichever weapons are to
hand. It could go a step further and open up a scenario where the US consider adopting these new weapons
onto US F-35s, which share integrative commonality with allied F-35s.

The United States could thus leverage allied investments in the weaponization of the global F-35 in a
significant way, but not if it follows a protectionist policy or continues to pursue the legacy of the most recent
Administration’s legacy to often have competition for competitions sake rather than simply moving ahead with
the off the shelf solution.

Allied weapons integration on the F-35 provides a range of off the shelf solution sets for the US forces, which
should be leveraged. The US can put its investment into additional weapons capabilities rather than simply
investing in areas already covered by advanced weapons capabilities developed and deployed by allies.

The F-35 global enterprise provides a way ahead for more rapid development of weapons, by leveraging
allied investments and capabilities whilst the US develops new capabilities in parallel, which can then be
offered to the allied F-35 users as well. A new business model has emerged precisely when a new
Administration has arrived in Washington, which has underscored its desire for new business models.

Here one is staring them directly in the face.

There are several examples of the opportunities which represent low hanging fruit which can be leveraged.

For example, in the UK, MBDA and the three UK Armed Services have worked closely over the years, and
most notably with the establishment of the Team Complex Weapons approach that has deepened their ability
to work closely together.

This approach was described by MBDA as follows:

Team Complex Weapons (Team CW) defines an approach to delivering the UK’s Complex Weapons (CW)
requirements in an affordable manner. This value for money proposition also ensures a viable industrial
capacity.

Page 26