Parliamentary Research Note on the JSF

A history of Australian aviation from 1914-1919 and much more.

The parliamentary library has released a research note which updates information on the JSF project [PDF] and Australia's position and options for it. The two main issues identified are increasing cost of the platform and Australian access to source code.

Source: www.defence.gov.au gallery ; For the last thirty years the F111 has been the most visible component of Australian power and projection. The JSF will replace both the F111 and F18.

Joint Strike Fighter

The cost of the JSF procurement is estimated at being somewhere in the order of 12 to 15.5 billion; up from 10.5 billion. That is not unusual in defence projects which are limited run and cutting edge technology. By way of comparison, the Australian government spends 16.7 billion on defence each year.

Other issues with costs include the possibility that the UK might pull out of the program over disputes with the Pentagon over access to source code. If this occurs the JSF, already a short-run aircraft, will become even shorter run. This will drive up unit costs for the aircraft.

Access to source code is an issue for Australia too. From the research note;

... questions about the release of the computer source code that makes the aircraft so unique have emerged as a potential showstopper for international clients.
The source code in question refers to the millions of lines of computer code that allow this 21st-century aircraft to fly and to fight.
Without complete access to this source code, Australia will be unable to modify or even maintain the aircraft independently--as it has done so successfully for many years with the F-111. The question about the release of the source code to Australia has not been confirmed publicly.
It is understood that maintenance of the JSF will be undertaken in a regional logistics and maintenance centre run by Lockheed Martin.
Without access to the source code, Australia may in coming decades be put in the invidious position of having no option but to pay whatever Lockheed Martin asks during future contract negotiations for the ongoing maintenance of Australia's strike fighters.

In other words, vendor lock-in.

The research note poses other issues, such as the increase in the technology and usefulness of the unmanned aerial vehicles [UAV]. It is possible that UAV will be a disruptive technology and leave the JSF as the last of manned strike aircraft.

Another issue raised is the choice of a less-stealthier platform, such as the F15 which has no development costs associated with it. The research note argues that the technology of the JSF, such as network-centric warfare, will filter down into other platforms; effectively commoditising.

The JSF still has a ways to go, the first test flight has not been performed and many of the technologies for the JSF are yet to fully mature under development. Australia will be watching with interest.

More Information

This article is x-posted from South Sea Republic; Parliamentary Research Note on the JSF