International JSF (sub) standard

From Janes

JSF security technology costing up to US$1bn

By Bill Sweetman

Up to US$1 billion of the projected cost overrun on the Lockheed
Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is attributable to the
development of 'anti-tamper' (AT) technology to protect stealth
features on the JSF, together with a 'sanitized' and probably less
stealthy export configuration of the fighter.

Some of this overrun is reflected in a supplemental contract awarded
to Lockheed Martin in November 2003, valued at US$603 million and
covering the development of an "international partner version" for the
JSF.

Building export JSFs with less sensitive - and less effective - low
observable (LO) features is practicable because the primary structure
of the JSF is conventional, with most of the LO systems being added at
the end of the assembly line. The program office has consistently
declined to clarify US policy on this issue, and people close to the
program have made conflicting statements.

Most recently, however, a JSF program official said that the export
versions "would look the same" - implying that materials under the
surface might be different. Another source says that "all JSFs will
have stealth features" but will not confirm that all of them will be
identical in LO performance. The November contract's reference to an
"international partner version" also suggests that such an approach is
being taken. The value of the contract would reflect the need to
conduct a separate radar cross-section (RCS) validation program.

The clear implication is that the 'international' JSF would have a
larger RCS than the US version, would be easier to detect by hostile
radars and would consequently be more susceptible to attack. That, in
turn, would have consequences for the overall effectiveness of the
fighter. Like other LO aircraft, it does not carry active jamming
equipment or a towed decoy, and it cannot use high-off-boresight
air-to-air missiles when in stealth mode.

JSF is the first US stealth aircraft to be offered for export. Rules
on the export of stealth technologies, as well as of dual-use
technologies that are important to stealth, are not made by the JSF
program office, but by senior Pentagon leaders, who define disclosure
policy with the help of the Low Observables Executive Committee
(LO-EXCOM). The EXCOM includes representatives from the services,
intelligence agencies and all major stealth programs, including
'black' or unacknowledged programs.

The use of less sensitive materials on export JSFs is likely to be
accompanied by a range of new AT measures, an area that has received
increasing attention since 11 September 2001. The objective is "to
protect critical technologies in US weapon systems that may be sold to
foreign governments or that could possibly fall into enemy hands".

Cheers

John Cook

Any spelling mistakes/grammatic errors are there purely to annoy. All
opinions are mine, not TAFE's however much they beg me for them.

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