F-35 Software Challenge Won't Delay IOC: The F-35B joint strike fighter remains on track to go operational for the Marine Corps this year, despite a recently discovered software fusion problem that manifests itself when multiple F-35 sensor suites attempt to communicate.
Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, the head of the F-35 Joint Program Office, said the problem with the targeting software is being worked by a team of experts from inside and outside the Pentagon, and expressed confidence the issue would be solved relatively shortly.
He also noted the Marines are aware of the issue and have decided it is not anything that should prevent them from reaching initial operating capability (IOC) with the 2B software package.
The software issue highlighted by Bogdan involves the sensor fusion that occurs between F-35 jets. The fighter is designed to gather information through its sensor suites and share it with other F-35s in the area, with up to four jets gathering situational awareness data and creating a joint operational picture for the pilots.
In most cases, Bogdan told reporters Tuesday, the software fusion worked well. But in the most extreme cases, with multiple air and ground threats affecting a set of four F-35s, "we found out that the fusion model sometimes, not all the time, sometimes creates an inaccurate picture for the pilot," he said.
