Mission incapable? Pentagon review finds gun on F-35 fighter jet can’t hit targets & 800+ software glitches – report
January 31, 2020, 9:51 am

Mission incapable? Pentagon review finds gun on F-35 fighter jet can’t hit targets & 800+ software glitches – report

The long list of problems plaguing the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter continues to grow, with a Pentagon review finding over 800 software flaws in the costly aircraft, as well as defects that prevent its guns from hitting targets.

The annual assessment by the Pentagon’s director of operational testing and evaluation, Robert Behler, revealed that the program that has cost over $400 billion so far has a long way to go before the jets are truly operational.

The fifth-generation stealth fighter is struggling to meet combat readiness, with some 873 outstanding software issues – including cybersecurity vulnerabilities – and 13 other “must fix” problems affecting safety and performance which must be addressed before the plane can advance to its next stage of upgrades.

“Although the program office is working to fix deficiencies, discoveries are still being made, resulting in only a minor decrease in the overall number,” the assessment said, adding that “many significant” flaws remained.

Among the major defects identified in the report is the jet’s 25mm autocannon, which still has trouble putting lead on ground targets due to a defective mounting device, rendering the gun effectively unusable. While the issue is unique to the Air Force variant, the Pentagon nonetheless deemed the gun’s performance “unacceptable,” adding that it failed to meet “contract specification” in its current state.

Throwing the plane’s reliability further into question, the testing office also found that “no significant portion” of Washington’s F-35 fleet “was able to achieve and sustain” a benchmark known as the Mission Capable rate, which requires the aircraft to be able to perform at least one type of combat mission 80 percent of the time.

“By a large margin,” the fleet also fell far behind the more strict Full Mission Capability requirement, the report added. In spite of the mounting series of flaws and technical defects, US lawmakers have only ramped up F-35 purchases over the years, shelling out for 20 units in 2018, 15 in 2019 and another 20 for this year, shoveling hundreds of billions of tax dollars into the coffers of Lockheed Martin.

source: Reuters

Russian strikes kill 10 civilians in Syria’s Idlib Two coronavirus cases confirmed in UK

BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”