The F-35’s sensors and “fusion” provides me as a pilot with good situational awareness. For an F-35 to simulate an opponent against another F-35, it has to restrict the effects of fusion and the various sensors. Even then it is difficult to “dumb down” the aircraft enough. It requires discipline to not be tempted to using information that an opponent in reality would not have access to.
The A-4s we faced in these exercises had sensor performance along the lines of our own upgraded F-16s. They also carried jammers intended to disturb our radar.
The pilots we faced were very experienced. We are talking 2000 hours plus in aircraft like the F-16, F-15E, F-15C and the F-22, with detailed knowledge of “fifth generation” tactics and weapons. When also cooperating closely with intercept controllers on the ground (GCI) they could adapt the training and offer us a reactive and challenging opponent. Note the word “reactive.”
The A-4 is a small aircraft with a corresponding signature. Many potential opponents in the air are bigger and easier to find than the tiny A-4.

The most important lesson for me personally was to see just how hard it was for the A-4s to find us, even with GCI support. We deliberately made high-risk tactical decisions to see just how far we could stretch our luck, and still remain undetected. At least for my part, this reinforced my confidence in the effectiveness of our tactics. I hope all my colleagues in the F-35 get to have the same experience as I have.

“Fusion” allows me to focus on the tactics, rather than detailed management of my sensors. In my encounters with the A-4s, “fusion” worked better than I have seen it before. It was reassuring to see how well it worked. The good «situational picture» that I saw provides us with several advantages; we can make smarter tactical decisions, and it takes less time before we can gain full “tactical value” from fresh pilots. (I had to smile a little when two of us in the F-35s effortlessly kept tabs on four opponents. That is no trivial thing in the F-16.)

7 июля компания Lockheed Martin заявила, что в ближайшее время рассчитывает достичь соглашения с министерством обороны США о поставке 160 истребителей F-35 на сумму 15 млрд долл, сообщает «Военный Паритет».
Руководитель программы F-35 компании «Локхид» Джефф Бэйбион (Jeff Babione) сообщил журналистам, что ход переговоров по 9-й и 10-й партиям самолетов «весьма и весьма обнадеживает». Цена одного самолета F-35A в составе 10-й партии снизится до менее 100 млн долл.
Далее компания заявила, что продолжает работу по дальнейшему снижению цены одного истребителя до 85 млн долл к 2019 году.

Carlisle said plans for the TSP are detailed, adding that there is a clear calendar set out to ensure the planes can be sent to Europe next year. And they could be sent to the Middle East as soon as a TSP is put together for that region. F-22s are currently flying over Syria and Iraq, and Carlisle noted their speed makes them more survivable against advanced surface to air threats such as the Russian S-400. He didn’t mention it, but the F-35 is the first US plane with a requirement that it be able to defeat advanced SAM threats.