Deterrence and Defence:F-35As Fully Certified to Carry Out Nuclear Mission

According to Air Force Magazine,the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter is now fully certified to carry out nuclear strike missions with the B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb.The B61-12 has a variable yield ranging from tactical nuclear strike at 0.3 kilotonnes to strategic nuclear strike at 50 kilotonnes,which is several times more powerful than the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs.Included on the B61-12 are a satellite and inertial navigation module,as well as a tail section enabling flight precision.Certification is a two-step process:nuclear design certification and operational certification.The nuclear design certification was completed on 4 October 2021,after completing the first full weapon certification and nuclear design certification.The aim is to ascertain whether the weapon can be credibly delivered.To find that out,two F-35As dropped Joint Test Assemblies (JTAs),or mockups of the B61-12,at the Tonopah Test Range,Nevada.The first operational certification was completed on 12 October 2023.Said Air Combat Command Deputy Director for Strategic Deterrence LTCOL Douglas A. Kabel:It makes our potential adversaries think more about their game plan before enacting it.It can get closer to (referring to the F-35A stealth fighter),further inside,a combat area that may otherwise be impossible for non-stealth assets.*The F-35A is the first stealth fighter to be certified for the nuclear mission.*The operational certification involves training and certification of maintenance and air crews at Wing locations where the F-35A nuclear mission is based.Approval means that the US or NATO Allies have a fighter that can strike targets with tactical nuclear weapons inside hostile territory without being detected.*The B61-12 can also be carried by B-2 Spirit strategic bombers;F-15E Strike Eagle fighters;F-16 C/D Fighting Falcon fighters;and Pannavia Tornado multirole fighters of Germany and Italy.Both Germany and Italy are transitioning to F-35As.F-35As have two special switches to enable the nuclear mission:a nuclear consent switch in the cockpit;and a mission select switch in the F-35A internal weapon bay,which can carry two B61-12s.Now that the F-35A has been fully certified,the aircraft is a Dual-Capable Aircraft (DCA) eligible for both NATO conventional and nuclear strike missions.The nuclear strike capability is overseen by the NATO Nuclear Committee as part of the nuclear sharing programme,which is a dual key arrangement regarding the B61-12 agreed by the US and NATO Allies Belgium,Germany,the Netherlands,Turkey,which have nuclear bomb storage on their air bases,and soon to be the UK once again at RAF Lakenheath,England,once the operational certification is obtained-operational certification is an air base by air base process.The bombs were removed from RAF Lakenheath in 2008 as the Cold War was deemed over.Ironically,Russia invaded the Republic of Georgia that same year,seizing the regions of Ingushetia and South Ossetia by force.Reportedly projects are underway to create a surety dormitory,or B61-12 storage facility,and a ballistic-sheathed facility for Air Force Security Forces.The surety dormitory is slated for completion by February 2026,according to public records.Two US Air Force F-35A squadrons are forward deployed to RAF Lakenheath and would be eligible to carry out the nuclear mission,pending operational certification.*As a matter of policy,air bases will neither confirm or deny the presence of nuclear weapons.Only the F-35A varient of the Lightning II has been certified for the nuclear mission at this point.*Lockheed Martin (LMT)

Cold War 2:US to Return Nukes to UK Air Base - plus what the Baltic States are implementing

According to research conducted by BBC News and the British news outlet The Telegraph,the US will soon be restarting its nuclear mission at RAF Lakenheath,England.The original mission was terminated in 2008 when Cold War tensions seemed to be easing.Ironically,that same year Russia invaded and occupied two Republic of Georgia territories,South Ossetia and Ingushetia,where it maintains a military presence to this day.In 2014,Russia-backed militants took over two Ukrainian Oblasts,Luhansk and Donetsk.On 30 September 2022,following its brutal invasion of Ukraine that February,Russia annexed these areas,and also annexed two cities,Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.There are no formal boundaries to these annexations.Russia had previously annexed Crimea,Ukraine on 18 March 2014.*The return of B61 thermonuclear bombs to RAF Lakenheath is reportedly imminent.Today,the West is gripped with the prospect that Russia and Belarus may lash out at NATO.There is uncertainty about Russia's and Belarus' intentions,and anxiety about the unpredictability of these adversaries.NATO is consequently processing an upgrade of its nuclear deterrent forces,which are currently assigned to air bases in Belgium,Germany,Italy,the Netherlands and Turkiye.This programme involves the US nuclear sharing programme that is a dual key arrangement,with both the US and the host NATO Ally having to sign off on nuclear missions.The latest version of the B61 is the B61-12.It is calibrated to a wide range of kilotonnages,up to a level amounting to several Hiroshima blasts,but also has many levels far below that blast magnitude.The documents obtained by the BBC include several contracts for facility construction at Lakenheath,including troop shelters needed for the imminent nuclear mission.A guardhouse for US Air Force Security Forces is to have ballisitic shielding.Other contracts awarded are for a Surety Dormitory,or nuclear weapons bunker,and hardened ballistic security shelters with bulletproof glass that can stop a .30 caliber projectile.Predictably,there have been anti-nuclear protests just outside Lakenheath.*The nuclear mission has been assigned to two squadrons of US Air Force F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters deployed to Lakenheath as part of the 48th Fighter Wing.The F-35As were flight tested with the B61-12.The mission involves training for,and,if necessary,executing the nuclear mission.*Both the US and the UK declined to confirm or deny whether there are nuclear weapons at Lakenheath.*Meanwhile,the Baltic States are fortifying their borders with Russia and Belarus as a first line of defence.For its part,Estonia is building a massive complex of 600 bunkers along its border with Russia,each bunker to house up to six troops.Russia says it will respond to Finland's hardening of its border with Russia,as well as to the renuclearisation of RAF Lakenheath.Most recently,some NATO leaders have expressed concern about the security of the rear areas of NATO,such as those deep inside Germany,whose Bundeswehr is the second largest military in NATO.These need to be better protected as well,not just the Eastern Flank.

Decision Expected This Year on Future Path for F-35 Engine - Avionics International

Decision Expected This Year on Future Path for F-35 Engine - Avionics International: A Pentagon decision on the future path for the F-35 engine may come this year, with the F-35 program office seeking improved electrical power and cooling.

Lockheed Martin Receives Contract for $7.6 Billion for 129 Total F-35s in Lot 15 - Aviation Today

Lockheed Martin Receives Contract for $7.6 Billion for 129 Total F-35s in Lot 15 - Aviation Today: Lockheed Martin has received a more than $7.6 billion contract for 129 F-35 fighters in Lot 15–49 F-35As for the U.S. Air Force.

The F-35 Program is Essential to the Norwegian Armed Forces

More Deterrence for Europe:F-35s Deployed to Italy

As part of a Theater Security Package (TSP) funded through the European Deterrence Initiative (EDI),the US Air Force has deployed a squadron of F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters to Aviano Air Base,Italy.In a news release by US Air Force Europe,it was explained that:
the TSP provides a more robust U.S. military rotational presence in the European theater capable of deterring adversaries and assuring partners and U.S. allies of U.S. commitment to regional security.*
Drawn from the 388th (active duty) and 419th (Reserve) Fighter Wings out of Hill Air Force Base,Utah,the deployed aircraft arrived in Italy on 24 May 2019 and will stay for several weeks.Along with their associated Airmen and equipment,the F-35s will participate in training and exercises with other Europe-based aircraft.The 388th is on its second deployment to Europe,the first one having been to RAF Lakenheath,England in 2017;while the 419th,the newest F-35A squadron,is on its maiden deployment.
According to MAJ James Russell,F-35 pilot with the 419th FW:
It's a great honour to be part of another milestone for Hill and the F-35 community.Locally,this effort is a demonstration of our Total Force integration construct hard at work between the 388th and 419th FWs.On a larger scale,it's a great opportunity to showcase our newest fighter platform to our partner nations and assure those nations of our continued support for their safety and security.*
The purpose of the EDI,as stated in the Pentagon's FY 2019 budget request for the programme,is:
1.Continue to enhance our deterrent and defense posture throughout the theater by positioning the right capabilities,in key locations,in order to respond to adversarial threats in a timely manner.
2.Assure our NATO allies and partners of the United States' commitment to Article 5 and the territorial integrity of all 28 (now 29,with Montenegro's accession) NATO nations.
3.Increase the capability and readiness of U.S. Forces,NATO Allies,and regional partners,allowing for a faster response in the event of any aggression by a regional adversary against the sovereign territory of NATO nations.*
The EDI was established as the European Reassurance Initiative in 2014,soon after Russia's annexation of Crimea,Ukraine.

Shop Talk:Read About the Arctic Challenge Exercise 2019

Please read my post on my Wall Street Workbook blog:
Air Wargames:Arctic Challenge Exercise 2019
It covers an important NORDEFCO/NATO exercise coming up soon.http://wallstreetworkbook.blogspot.com
http://wallstreetworkbook.blogspot.com

First Combat:Air Force F-35As Support Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service

On 30 April 2019,two US Air Force F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters struck a Daesh tunnel network (Daesh is another word for Islamic State) at Wadi Ashai,which is deep within Iraq's Hamrin Mountains,US CENTCOM said in a news release.The aircraft,on the first ever combat sortie for the Air Force version of the F-35,were refueled by a USAF KC-10 Extender tanker,having been launched from al-Dhafra Air Base in the UAE.Reaching the target,they released a Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) to hit the entrenched tunnel network and a weapons cache,which were in a position to attack Global Coalition forces.The mission was in support of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve,the 74 nation effort to neutralise Daesh and its ideology.*
LTC Yosef Morris,commander,4th Fighter Wing and himself an F-35 pilot,described the fifth generation fighter's capabilities:
We have the ability to gather,fuse and pass so much information,that we make every friendly aircraft more survivable and lethal.That,combined with low-observable technology,allows us to really complement any combined force package be ready to support AOR contingencies.The F-35A has sensors everywhere.It has advanced radar,and it is gathering and fusing all this information from the battlespace in real time.Now it has the ability to take that information and share it with other F-35s or even fourth generation aircraft in the same package that can also see the integrated picture.*
The aircraft were specifically supporting an Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) attack on Daesh sleeper cells and their support base.Daesh is believed to be moving materiel and people into the area in a drive to support a resurgence of operations following their total loss of urban strongholds in Iraq and Syria.In preparation for CTS clearance operations,CJTF-OIR destroyed several tunnel systems;buildings;caves;and command and control positions.The strikes and clearance operations also removed many Daesh fighters from the battlefield,US CENTCOM said.*
In its strike summary for 21 April-4 May 2019,CJTF-OIR said it conducted 10 strikes-all in Iraq-consisting of 40 engagements,engaging four Daesh tactical units,and destroying three tunnels;two buildings;two weapons caches;two supply routes;and one cargo container.The summary contains all strikes conducted by fighter,attack,bomber,rotary-wing,remotely piloted aircraft,rocket propelled artillery and ground-based tactical artillery.*
The versatile McDonnell Douglas (Boeing) KC-10 Extender can also carry 75 passengers and 170,000 pounds of cargo while on refueling missions.*
Boeing (BA)