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From the Magazine: F-35 Upgrade – do you want the good news, or the bad news?
Being optimists at APDR, we shall start with the good news. The upgrade of F-35s to the Block 4 configuration will be a step change in capability, possibly as great as the original concept of the aircraft to move from a 4th generation platform to a 5th. The bad news is that the upgrade program has been delayed by about a year – and the situation might get worse. At the heart of the upgrade – and the major cause of the delay – is moving to a configuration known as Technical Refresh-3 (TR-3). This is based on installing a powerful new computer from L3Harris and a lot of associated software. Once in place, it will support the introduction of a host of new sensors, including the radar and the unique Distributed Aperture System (DAS) that allows the pilot to “see” through the aircraft via external cameras and have an uninterrupted 360-degree view of the outside world. The new mission suite computer – or core processor – has 16 times the speed of the original one and 4.5 times the memory. It’s worth remembering that the current hardware is from around 2010 – and some specifications were developed even prior to that. About 14 years later the world has moved on, as reference to any smart phone will indicate. This is an excerpt from APDR. To read the full story, click here. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Kym Bergmann at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Director of Sales Graham Joss at [email protected]
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Kym Bergmannhttps://asiapacificdefencereporter.com/
Kym Bergmann has more than 35 years of experience in journalism and Australian and international defence industry. After graduating with Honors from the Australian National University, he joined Capital 7 television, holding several positions including foreign news editor and chief political correspondent.
After 2 years on the staff of a Federal Minister, he moved to the defence sector and held senior positions in several companies, including Blohm+Voss, Thales, Celsius and Saab. In 1997 he was one of 2 Australians selected for the Thomson CSF 'Preparation for Senior Management' MBA course, the other being Chris Jenkins - formerly the CEO of Thales Australia.
He has also worked as a consultant for a number of companies, including Raytheon, Tenix (now part of BAES) and Martin Marrietta (now part of Lockheed Martin). He had several board appointments, including Thomson Sintra Pacific (1994 - 96) and Saab Pacific (1998 - 2003).
He retains good personal links with senior figures in Government, as well as in industry and the media. He decided to return to journalism in May 2008, and holds the position of editor for Asia Pacific Defence Reporter (APDR) and Defence Review Asia (DRA). He is also a podcaster and commentator on defence and national security issues.