洛克希德或无法按时交付F-35的所有战术性能

在彭博社上周获得的一份8月9日的备忘录中， 五角大楼的测试主任迈克尔·吉尔默写道，下一代F-35战斗机的开发项目，“可能无法按时交付”飞机的全部功能。开发商洛克希德目前宣布的最终期限是2018年。F-35项目的总成本已经增加到超过1万亿美元。

吉尔默似乎是在反驳美国空军的一则公告。这则公告中声称这款飞机已做好战斗准备。他写道，按照当前的状态，“由于尚未解决的性能缺陷和有限的武器挂载能力”，F-35战斗机需要旧机型战斗机的支持，才能“锁定和避免现代威胁、捕获目标，与敌方战机编队交火”。

目前该飞机存在的问题包括依旧会以稳定的频率出现的软件问题，吉尔默写道，软件问题会干扰目标识别、战斗机之间的通信和雷达信号侦测。后者尤其重要，因为订购F-35主要看中的就是其隐身能力。

该飞机软件“Block 3i”目前的版本，也导致飞机前置机枪无法使用。吉尔默还写到，飞行测试已经“远远落后于”预定计划。飞机的操作测试原计划在2018年开始。

军方和洛克希德的代表坚称，他们早已知道备忘录中列出的问题，并且正在寻找解决办法。洛克希德的发言人称，开发工作仍在顺利进行，将在2017年底完成，而美国空军部长德博拉·李·詹姆斯强调称，“未来几年”将继续对这款飞机的研发工作。

F-35计划启动以来，特别是成本的迅速增加，使F-35一直都是争议的焦点。2010年，美国参议院拨款委员会（Senate Appropriations Committee）写道，该项目表明“对国防预算流程缺乏有效的控制”。由于这款飞机在与旧型号F-16的模拟空中格斗中并不占优，因此它一直被形容为比较早机型的机动性更差。（财富中文网）

译者：刘进龙/汪皓

In an August 9th memo obtained by Bloomberg last week, the Pentagon’s director of testing, Michael Gilmore, wrote that the program to develop the next-generation F-35 fighter jet is “on a path toward failing to deliver” the plane’s full capabilities in time. Developer Lockheed’s current deadline is 2018. The total cost of the F-35 program has risen to more than $1 trillion dollars.

Gilmore also seemed to contradict an Air Force announcement that its version of the plane was combat-ready, writing that in its current state, the F-35 would need support from older craft to “locate and avoid modern threats, acquire targets, and engage formations of enemy fighter aircraft due to outstanding performance deficiencies and limited weapons carriage available.”

The current issues with the plane include software problems which continue to surface at a steady rate, and which Gilmore wrote interfere with target identification, communications between aircraft, and radar signal detection. The latter would be particularly significant, since the F-35 is prominently billed for its stealth capabilities.

The current version of the plane’s software, known as “Block 3i,” also leaves the plane’s front-mounted machine gun unusable. Gilmore also wrote that flight testing has fallen “far behind” schedule. Operational testing of the plane is scheduled to begin in 2018.

Representatives of the military and Lockheed insisted that the memo outlined issues that were already well-understood and were being addressed. Lockheed’s spokesman said that development was still on track for completion in late 2017, while Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James emphasized that the plane would continue to develop further over “the next several years.”

The F-35 has been the repeated subject of controversy since the inception of the program, particularly over rapidly escalating costs. In 2010, the Senate Appropriations Committee wrote that the program showed “the lack of proper control in the defense budget process.” The plane itself has been described asless maneuverable than older fighters, operating at a disadvantage in a simulated dogfight with the older F-16.