Army Secretary Ramps Up 3D Printing
A new policy orders organizations across the Army to embrace advanced manufacturing to “fundamentally change” both modernization and readiness.
Air Force Pushes 3D Printing To Boost Readiness
Air Force LCMC is working to ensure that far-flung depots eventually can print their own parts -- with a recent first being Travis AFB's using their brand, spanking new laser printer to print those toilet seat covers built of a new-fangled polymer from it's own brand new printer.
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Breaking the Pentagon’s new bottleneck of time
As threats evolve, the winning model ties digital engineering to manufacturing capacity and a reindustrialized supply chain.
F-35 Parts Problems At Heart Of Low Readiness Rates: GAO
"F-35 aircraft performance is falling short of warfighter requirements—that is, aircraft cannot perform as many missions or fly as often as required. This lower-than-desired aircraft performance is due largely to F-35 spare parts shortages and difficulty in managing and moving parts around the world"
Navy, Marine F-18s In ‘Death Spiral’ As Readiness Plummets
CAPITOL HILL: The Navy-Marine fighter fleet is in a “death spiral” and the only long-term fix is to buy new jets faster, both F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, a former Pentagon analyst told Breaking Defense. Two veteran Hill staffers agreed the situation is dire and new planes are needed, although they put equal […]
Flight Ops Of 15 F-35As Suspended Due To Fuel Tank Problem
The US Air Force and Norway announced the temporary suspension of flight operations for 15 F-35As today because of “peeling and crumbling insulation in avionics cooling lines inside the fuel tanks.” The problem, caused by a supplier, was discovered during depot modification of an F-35A and affects a total of 57 aircraft, 42 of them still on the […]
19% Of Marine Aircraft Down For Repairs; Paying For Mistakes Of 1970s
CAPITOL HILL: Marines pride themselves on being ready for anything. But as of today, 19 percent of their air fleet is out of action “long-term” awaiting repairs and spares, the deputy commandant for aviation said today. “It’s 158 — actually, today, 159 aircraft — that the taxpayer paid $8.4 billion dollars for,” said Lt. Gen. […]
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Not just selling into the kingdom, but building partnership with Saudi Arabia’s defense industry
Partnerships with outside industry are a cornerstone of the kingdom’s ambitious growth strategy.
Navy, OSD Studies Could Save Boeing’s F-18 Line
CAPITOL HILL: Pentagon leaders are pushing hard to keep up the momentum of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Many in the Navy, though, still look longingly back at the Boeing-built F-18 Hornet, whose St. Louis production line faces closure in 2017. There are two independent trends that together could save the St. Louis line and the Navy’s favorite plane. The first […]
Army Materiel Command Gears Up For Drawdown; Base Contracts In Play
WASHINGTON: As the wars draw down and budgets shrink, the massive Army Materiel Command — 70,000 military and civilian personnel at arsenals, depots, and other facilities in all 50 states — is shifting gears and taking on new missions. Some longstanding efforts are winding down, explained Lt. Gen. Patricia McQuistion, AMC’s new deputy commander, at […]