Technical malfunctions: in the USA, they talked about problems in the operation of one of the F-35 fighter systems

The US Audit Office announced the need to develop a strategy for the modernization of the ALIS (Autonomic Logistics Information System) integrated logistic support system (FIS) for fifth-generation F-35 fighter bombers. This is stated in the report of the department, prepared at the request of the American Congress.

“The prospects for ALIS are still unclear, since the Ministry of Defense has not yet developed a modernization strategy that, among other things, would determine the characteristics of the future system, the conditions for its development and operation, the parameters for responding to key risks and the total cost,” the Accounts Chamber said in a document. , whose text was read by RT.

ILS systems are designed to reduce financial, time and labor costs while maintaining the aircraft in combat readiness during its operation. So, ALIS helps F-35 service technicians diagnose and maintain the performance of aircraft. With its help, the process of updating the software of the fighter and downloading new data to the on-board computers is carried out. The developer of the complex is the American military-industrial corporation Lockheed Martin.

Employees of the Accounts Chamber indicate continuing problems in the system.

“Current ALIS users continue to receive reports of significant difficulties in its operation, which negatively affect the daily use of aircraft, forcing them to solve additional maintenance tasks, and which in some cases lead to the risk of squadron commanders approving flights, when ALIS concludes that it should not fly out, ”the document explains.

As experts working with the system note, to use it requires bulky and fragile equipment that is difficult to transport; when servicing ALIS, more personnel are required than was originally planned. In addition, for the system to work in some cases, you need an Internet connection, which in the field is not always available and stable.

Users also complain about imperfect and inconvenient software, low data processing speed, freezing and untimely interruption of the work session. At the same time, the process of eliminating problems arising during the operation of the F-35 using ALIS remains ineffective, according to the report of the Accounts Chamber.

“Given that in the next four years the F-35 global fleet will exceed 1,000 units, and the US Armed Forces are increasingly relying on the capabilities of the F-35 in implementing their operational strategies, solving the current problems associated with the logistics support system for these fighters will become for the Ministry of Defense is an absolute necessity, ”they conclude in the Accounts Chamber.

Against this background, the authors of the document call on Congress to require the US military to develop a mechanism for evaluating the effectiveness of ALIS.

• Fighter F-35
• © Yuri Gripas / Reuters

The concern about the functioning of ALIS is explained by the fact that the system affects the operation of the F-35 software, and hence the combat efficiency of the aircraft, military expert Alexei Leonkov noted in a conversation with RT. He draws attention primarily to the main function of the system - updating the data of the on-board computer. According to the expert, accurate and timely downloaded information is critical.

“If combat missions change, new types of weapons, new defense systems appear, an appropriate update is required to ensure the survivability of the aircraft in the conditions of combined arms combat,” Leonkov added.

Outdated technology

ALIS has been criticized more than once in the United States. Thus, Will Roper, the assistant secretary of the US Air Force for Procurement, Technology and Logistics, called the complex “1990s technology.” According to him, the system has "a lot of things that are very frustrating and time-consuming."

The former U.S. Air Force Secretary, Heather Wilson, was disapproving of ALIS. Speaking to Congress in 2018, she argued that the complex has “huge problems”.

As follows from the Pentagon report published in January last year, discontent over the functioning of the system has been heard for eight years, starting in 2012. The Accounts Chamber, in turn, fixes the problems and risks associated with ALIS since 2014.

In January, the US Department of Defense announced its intention to replace ALIS with the new ODIN (Operational Data Integrated Network) logistic support system. Her developer is still the same Lockheed Martin. Installation of equipment for ODIN on fighters will begin at the end of this year, and by December 2022 the complex should be brought to full functional readiness.

In the report of the US Audit Chamber, this is regarded as a positive step. At the same time, they note that for the effective transition to the new system, the Pentagon needs an appropriate strategy. In particular, the military department should take into account and evaluate the key technical and software problems of the existing complex.

“Without such a strategy, the Ministry of Defense will not be able to effectively plan the transition from the current ALIS system, already implemented in more than 400 F-35 fighters used around the world, to any other chosen option,” the document says.

• Ex-US Air Force Minister Heather Wilson
• Reuters
• © Jeenah Moon

"Raw fighter"

The F-35 is expected to become the backbone of the U.S. Air Force and some of its allies. However, according to experts, the fifth-generation American fighter-bomber has serious defects that are not limited to software problems.

In 2018, a nonprofit organization for the oversight of the U.S. government (Project On Government Oversight, POGO) immediately revealed 966 critical F-35 flaws. Moreover, 111 of them belonged to the first category of complexity, that is, they could lead to the death or serious injury of military personnel.

As it turned out, the emergency system is faulty in the aircraft, therefore, in the case of pilot ejection, the dispatchers do not receive information about the emergency. Malfunctions are associated with a disposable tail hook, which is released when the brake system fails.

Another critical problem was discovered in the weapons control system - pilots cannot confirm the coordinates of a ground target.

In addition, in October 2018, the Pentagon stopped flights of a number of F-35 fighters due to problems with the fuel system. Defects in this part of the aircraft were also recorded two years earlier. In 2016, the U.S. Air Force suspended the use of the aircraft due to malfunctions in the fuel tank cooling system.

In 2015, before the F-35 was put into operation, the developer of the American F-16 fighter Pierre Spray predicted many difficulties with the new machine.

“I am sure that in the coming years this fighter will bring so many problems that no more than 500 units of such aircraft will be produced. From a technical point of view, the F-35 will be so shameful that everyone will pretend that it was not needed at all, that they have better ideas, that they are working on a new aircraft, and you can forget about the F-35, ”the engineer said .

The United States is turning a blind eye to the significant F-35 shortcomings in pursuit of financial benefits, said retired military analyst Colonel Viktor Litovkin.

“The F-35 is unfinished. The Americans are in a hurry to send him to the troops, to the countries that ordered him to justify the money invested in the project, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

It is worth noting that initially the fifth generation fighter-bomber was planned to be sold at a record high price of $ 221 million, but then its value fell sharply. According to the last contract concluded with Poland this year, one F-35 copy costs $ 87 million, according to the Polish Minister of Defense Mariusz Blaszczak.

Head of the Department of Political Science and Sociology G.V. Plekhanova Andrei Koshkin emphasized that the multifunctional F-35 was supposed to be a challenge to the world community, but so far it has not been possible to achieve such an effect.

“It is believed that the F-35 is a promising platform, but at the moment it is raw. It should be borne in mind that the more equipment, the more difficult it is to use. The degree of reliability in battle depends on this. I think the fighter will be improved for a long time, and it may turn out that they will move on to the next generation aircraft, and the F-35 will sink wet into oblivion, ”Koshkin suggested.

Many US allies who have previously signed an F-35 supply contract are considering procurement. The authorities of Italy, for example, in 2018 decided to completely abandon the American fighter. And in Germany, the F-35 was excluded from the Bundeswehr competition to replace an aging fleet of aircraft. The British Parliament also discussed the possibility of rejecting the acquisition of an American aircraft due to a budget deficit.