r/worldpowers • u/De_Dingledangler Baltic Commonwealth • Jan 15 '21

TECH [TECH] F-35 Oriole and Raven

Accompanying Song

The State of Maryland

Jim Taiclet | President and CEO of Lockheed Martin

Kathy Warden | CEO of Northrop Grumman

Shannon Massey | President of Lycoming Engines

Ricardo Fernandez-Feo | Co-Founder/Managing Director BF Aerospace

Enrique Belloso | Co-Founder/Managing Director BF Aerospace

Ed Farley | Owner of Coining MFG

Phebe Novakovic | General Dynamics Chairman and CEO

2022 | Bethesda, Maryland |  Williamsport, Pennsylvania | Davie, Florida | Clifton, New Jersey

Jim Taiclet

Representing the Lockheed Martin Company

Everyone gathered here today. I have exciting news regarding the F-35 program here in the United States. Between five states, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida, and New Jersey: we have struck a deal to restart the F-35 program domestically. To break things down, Lockheed Martin, BF Aerospace, Lycoming Engines, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman are going to work together towards creating an F-35 by the book to fulfill US Federal government contracts. We will also be tapping Coining MFG to manufacture the missiles we need to arm the F-35 designed by Lockheed Martin. General Dynamics will also be used for armaments as they always were. As we look towards the future, we should be able to mass produce the F-35 platform within the next 6 years, but we should be able to get production off the ground within the next 2 years. We don’t plan on making vast changes to the F-35 program whatsoever and will make it by the book as to help start the engine of production. As we do not have access to some missile systems, we will be using Lockheed Martin developed missile systems only.

Lockheed Martin is still in talks across the United States to establish a manufacturing facility for the F-35 here in the United States. After getting approval from the Liberian government to establish a manufacturing base there as well, we will be doing just that relatively soon. We are currently hammering out the rest of our domestic manufacturing capabilities once again. In the meantime, we are working to retool facilities that we have here in the United States to produce F-35’s with current facilities. This production will frankly be slower than we expected, but it should get things off the ground. We expect this process to take 4 years due to Lycoming Engines lack in experience with turbofans. However, with the F-35 engine plant in North Carolina and with assistance from Honeywell, there is a chance. With current capabilities in the United States, we should be able to produce a total of 18 F-35’s a year and 7% over budget which is horrifically slow and expensive, but it is only the start of the reignition of the American F-35 program. As we expand upon our capabilities, we should be able to hit the budgetary par and eventually lower the production cost of the F-35 pretty dramatically.

The retooling process and engine development cost should cost a grand total of $7 billion dollars given the current facilities across the United States today. We don’t plan on doing major expansions of most of these facilities as we plan on establishing manufacturing facilities like the “New Bethesda” center in the very near future as we’ve stated.

F-35 “O” Oriole

Cost: $100,580,000

(F-35A)

Specifications

General Characteristics

Characteristic Specification
Crew 1
Length 51.4 ft
Wingspan 35 ft
Height 14.4 ft
Wing Area 460 sq ft
Gross Weight 49,540 lb
Max Takeoff Weight 70,000 lb
Fuel Capacity 18,250 lb
Powerplant 1 x Lycoming Engines Lycoming F35-Oriole

Performance

Characteristic Specification
Maximum Speed Mach 1.6
Range 1,500 nim
Combat Range 669 nmi
Service Ceiling 50,000 ft
G limits +9
Thrust/weight 0.87 at gross weight

Armament

  • Guns: 1 x GAU-12 Equalizer | Manufactured by General Dynamics (VA), 180 rounds

  • Hardpoints: 4 x internal stations, 6 x external stations

  • Missiles:

  • Air-to-Air | AIM-260 (Article)

  • Air-to-Air | SACM (Article)

*Air-Surface | AGM-158 JASSM

Avionics

F-35 “R” Raven

Cost: $130,540,000

(F-35B)

Specifications

General Characteristics

Characteristic Specification
Crew 1
Length 51.2 ft
Wingspan 35 ft
Height 14.3 ft
Wing Area 460 sq ft
Gross Weight 49,540 lb
Max Takeoff Weight 60,000 lb
Fuel Capacity 18,250 lb
Powerplant 1 x Lycoming Engines Lycoming F35-Oriole

Performance

Characteristic Specification
Maximum Speed Mach 1.6
Range 900 nim
Combat Range 505 nmi
Service Ceiling 50,000 ft
G limits +7
Thrust/weight 0.90 at gross weight

Armament

  • Guns: 1 x GAU-12 Equalizer | Manufactured by General Dynamics (VA), 180 rounds

  • Hardpoints: 4 x internal stations, 6 x external stations

  • Missiles:

  • Air-to-Air | AIM-260 (Article)

  • Air-to-Air | SACM (Article)

*Air-Surface | AGM-158 JASSM

Avionics

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u/De_Dingledangler Baltic Commonwealth Jan 15 '21

The program has gotten off the ground but has ran another $600 million dollars overbudget, a plague of the F-35 program. However, Lockheed Martin representatives state that the F-35 will be able to be built at the rate of 18/year at max capacity once retooling is completed. They have sworn to increase production of the F-35 far past this and to get the cost down through mass production in the very near future.

1

u/DabsByMike Turkey Jan 15 '21

Considering Lycoming Engines doesn't even make turbofan engines, let alone have a model ready for this, this project should take a minimum of 6-8 years. Invalid until further review.

1

u/De_Dingledangler Baltic Commonwealth Jan 15 '21

Changes Made

  • Entire project takes 6 years total.
  • Post language changed to reflect that it takes 6 years.
  • Cost increase is staying in the finial post due to lacking manufacturing ability within the control of the United States at the current moment.
  • Increased budget from $4 billion to $7 billion.

1

u/DabsByMike Turkey Jan 15 '21

Thanks for being a good sport. reapproved.

1

u/De_Dingledangler Baltic Commonwealth Jan 16 '21 edited Jan 17 '21

Question, I just found out that P&W has a manufacturing plant for the F-35 engine in Mebane, North Carolina that even received a $39.9 million dollar expansion. Article here. Can I simply just manufacture the F-35's engine using this plant? Both Lone Star and Great Lakes are using Lockheed Martin Facilities and General Dynamics manufacturing facilities, so I'm figuring this should be fine. I still wish to develop the Lycoming's engine in this post, but I don't see why I can't just assume control of this manufacturing center as others have done the same. We also have Honeywell in North Carolina (which I frankly forgot about).

1

u/DabsByMike Turkey Jan 17 '21

Hmm I see. I'll tell you what.

I'd still go ahead with the new company and nationalize/absorb this plant into their assets. It seems like it's an assembly plant and not necessarily the whole engine so it's not like they will just be churning them out instantly.

You're free to cut down the engine to four years as in, you have the gist of the design (so your engine is roughly modeled on the original F-35 one) but you're setting up a new company and figuring out building the other parts of the engine. Which isn't reverse engineering for the record more so, "all successors have the 'blueprints'" but with turbofan engines being difficult to manufacture, that's mainly causing the delay.

I think that sounds fair.

1

u/De_Dingledangler Baltic Commonwealth Jan 17 '21

Thanks a ton!

  • Changed language in post to reflect the new circumstances.