[OC] The main suppliers and materials/components for an F35
Posted by VeridionData@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 42 comments
![[OC] The main suppliers and materials/components for an F35](https://i.redd.it/8w2ljj5m324h1.png)
Posted by VeridionData@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 42 comments
Liquidate-Me-Daddy@reddit
Oh well it’s rapidly becoming obsolete in modern warfare
You can build about 3,000 highly sophisticated drones for the cost of one F-35
Total payload with the highest grade munitions on an F-35 would be about 3,500 KG of explosives
Those 3,000 drones will carry 100,000 KG
These planes are almost worthless now
Adjutant_Reflex_@reddit
Okay Elon…
The F-35 is in no way becoming “rapidly obsolete” in modern warfare. It still remains the gold standard for a mass produced multi-role fighter. And when the Block 4 upgrade is finally rolled out it will become arguably the single most capable platform in the sky; an aircraft capable of penetrating strike missions, EW attacks, and ISR.
The “cheap” drones you mention absolutely have a role in the battlefield but are in no way a replacement for an F-35 or other strike platform. If you’re looking to hit lightly defended, static targets in a permissive environment then a LUCAS might be a great choice. But if there’s significant AA, EW interference, Datalink requirements for tasking/targeting, etc then that “cheap” drone suddenly skyrockets in price.
Negative_Jaguar_4138@reddit
You can build about 3,000 shit drones for the coat of an F-35. The Shahed 136 is a $20,000-$50,000 USD drone.
Laser guided bombs that can be dropped from 40+ km away and impact with a 1m margin or error with constant updates to the guidance.
Anti-Radiation missiles
Dozens of Small Diameter Bombs all with <2m of inaccuracy.
Yeah but how effective is that 100,000 tons?
The allies leveled entire cities with less than 3,000 tons of bombs, additionally what is the chance a JDAM gets intercepted compared to a Shahed?
Other than the fact that no drone can intercept them and even the best FPV drone has the same range and accuracy of a guided bomb despite being 100x smaller.
How many Iranian soldiers did the US kill with Jets vs How many US soldiers did Iran kill with drones.
Liquidate-Me-Daddy@reddit
Iran isn’t targeting US soldiers dumbass
ChevTecGroup@reddit
They have been for decades
Liquidate-Me-Daddy@reddit
No they haven’t that is propaganda working very well against you
Less than 20 US soldiers have been killed by the IRGC in history
I’d say do some research, but you’ll just ask AI lol
ChevTecGroup@reddit
Oh. Those missiles that hit my base when I was in Iraq DIDNT come from Iran. I see.
The CIA must have been spoofing the radar to make it look like they were from Iran.
/s
Iran is bigger than the IRGC anyway.
Liquidate-Me-Daddy@reddit
Ohhhh and uhh how many casualties?
Thats what I thought
ChevTecGroup@reddit
Two close friends with purple hearts. Those are considered casualties
Liquidate-Me-Daddy@reddit
Sure we all believe that
ChevTecGroup@reddit
https://www.nationalguard.mil/News/Article-View/Article/2997868/2-ohio-national-guard-soldiers-awarded-purple-heart/
Lol. Dumbass
Liquidate-Me-Daddy@reddit
So cute and the total is till under 20 💅
ChevTecGroup@reddit
"Iran isn’t targeting US soldiers dumbass"
Keep moving the goalposts.
Should we also mention all of aircraft destroyed by Iran in the last 6 months?
Liquidate-Me-Daddy@reddit
Btw interesting that official reports show zero casualties during that event with only trauma
Fuck off liar
ChevTecGroup@reddit
Oh so now you trust the US govt reports?
You're so lost
Formula1_@reddit
For info, Beryllium is an extraordinarily dangerous metal to work with but the mass properties will blow your mind. I once picked up a part that easily looked like 4kg, but when I lifted it up, it felt like it was made of cardboard paper.
Adjutant_Reflex_@reddit
And tough AF. Some more modern vehicles have started to incorporate thin portions of beryllium into the crash structure for strength. We were training on vehicle extrication years back and neither our hydraulic or electric tools could cut through it; best we could do was deform it out of the way.
Nikbul89@reddit
Calling BS. GE does major critical components for PWE engine, not mentioned. Some avionics as well. Pretty sure other subcomponents have errors as well. Source: working at GE
Brittney_2020@reddit
I bet if you broke down the microelectronics and battery subcomponents you'd find more Chinese materials, mainly rare earths.
Adjutant_Reflex_@reddit
If that’s the case then a supplier is forging something and violating DFARs.
At any point we can be audited and required to show full traceability and custody of parts and raw materials. When compliant we can trace bolt back to the mine that metal came from.
Now…is that foolproof? No. But there’s an entire procurement process designed around explicitly excluding Chinese/Russian/Iranian/etc. sources.
MrBanditOne@reddit
Yep, this comment is spot on and the top comment is fear-mongering. I actually work on the F-35 program in supply chain and any procurement of components from countries not on the approved sources list would be a severe violation of DFARS, of which there are numerous checks and validations during the procurement process with program suppliers to catch.
Brittney_2020@reddit
I guess I knew requirements like that existed, but thats the extent of my knowledge. Do you have any good sources to learn more about the details? I love esoteric stuff like this.
ChevTecGroup@reddit
I work on the govt side of some of this. Yes all microchips have a strict chain of custody. And will be rejected without it. They are also screened for signs of counterfeit and it is sometimes found. Oftentimes they are even x-rayed by the govt to make sure they look the same on the inside as known good ones.
Adjutant_Reflex_@reddit
If you want to punish yourself a lot of it will be covered under DFAR/FAR.
But the TL;DR is if a component has national security implications and relies on critical materials we have to ensure we only use approved sourcing. It’s not foolproof but we take it seriously.
Imonkeed@reddit
Does the production process run mostly like any other supply line or are there any big differences in how thing are managed ect? I would love to know how it would compare to the smaller scale industrial machine contracting I work around.
Obvs security is probably a bit tighter lol.
FZ_Milkshake@reddit
The US has reopened the Mountain Pass mine, they are probably using Chinese REEs, but they have a really good source of some rare earths, especially Neodymium for permanent magnets.
eltorolocotoxicslut@reddit
Engine as well
PlinyTheElderest@reddit
There are no rare earths in battery components.
JormLokison@reddit
Blackbird was build with Titanium from the Soviet Union, so business as usual
Brittney_2020@reddit
Minor technicality: I don't think the CIA is helping source/smuggle rare earths from China like they did with titanium for the SR-71.
JormLokison@reddit
You may be right, but we will never know
Brittney_2020@reddit
We may never know, but our kids might. A surprising amount of CIA antics have been declassified. This is still my favorite one
VeridionData@reddit (OP)
yeah clearly but I had to stay within the boundaries of a reddit post, otherwise, this chart would look like trying to map a human vascular system
Brittney_2020@reddit
That's reasonable, and I didn't mean my comment as a critique of your chart. You could probably write a PhD dissertation in the process of tracking all the inputs back to "dug out of the ground". Though it would be fascinating to see all the mining, processing, wholesale, and transportation companies involved.
Familiar-Nothing4948@reddit
Yeah but I feel like this makes the supply chain look way less dependent on other countries than it actually is
koinai3301@reddit
No Martin Baker?
En4cr@reddit
As a data nerd this is absolutely beautiful.🥹
FirstSurvivor@reddit
How was all of it classified? I don't know the whole chain, but I know enough that Magellan (Canadian) is missing. They produce a lot of the structure.
mr_potato_thumbs@reddit
Missing windshield manufacturer too.
post-explainer@reddit
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CardinalOfNYC@reddit
This isn't OC it's AI slop
CaptainAttidude@reddit
🇧🇪 Sonaca will also be a supplier for elevators