Marines Add 13 Bs To F-35 Buy; Acquisition Costs Rise

Marines Add 13 Bs To F-35 Buy; Acquisition Costs Rise
Marines Add 13 Bs To F-35 Buy; Acquisition Costs Rise

WASHINGTON: At a time when much of the talk about the F-35 program has centered on trimming its overall numbers of 2,443, we learned today that the Marines plan to increase how many of the hovering B models they buy. Close observers of the program might not be too surprised by the Marines’ decision. At…

LTG Davis Talks To Boeing On Upgrading Half Of Marine V-22 Fleet

LTG Davis Talks To Boeing On Upgrading Half Of Marine V-22 Fleet
LTG Davis Talks To Boeing On Upgrading Half Of Marine V-22 Fleet

PENTAGON: The head of Marine aviation is talking with Boeing about costs and ways to upgrade more than half of the service’s 239 V-22 Ospreys to improve readiness. The basic plan would be to improve all 131 of the A and B models of the V-22 to the C level,  Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, told me in an interview…

Marines Begin Final Checks For F-35B IOC; ‘On Track’ For End Of July

Marines Begin Final Checks For F-35B IOC; ‘On Track’ For End Of July
Marines Begin Final Checks For F-35B IOC; ‘On Track’ For End Of July

WASHINGTON: A select group of 12 Marines in Yuma, Ariz. began testing the first squadron of F-35B pilots, inspecting their aircraft and checking maintenance procedures and personnel yesterday as the end game for declaring Initial Operating Capability for the aircraft before the end of July. “Initial operating capability (IOC) for the Marine Corps F-35B is…

Gen. Davis Hopes To Keep F-35B Out Of War Zones Right After IOC

Gen. Davis Hopes To Keep F-35B Out Of War Zones Right After IOC
Gen. Davis Hopes To Keep F-35B Out Of War Zones Right After IOC

WASHINGTON: As the Marines started doing operational testing of the F-35B aboard the USS Wasp, the head of Marine Aviation is visibly and demonstrably confident the aircraft will meet the date for the plane’s Initial Operational Capabiility. “To me the F-35 program is right on track where it should be,” Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, the head…

F-35B Flies With Weapons; USS Wasp Testing Expanded Carrier Ops

F-35B Flies With Weapons; USS Wasp Testing Expanded Carrier Ops
F-35B Flies With Weapons; USS Wasp Testing Expanded Carrier Ops

PENTAGON: During the 10 days of testing aboard the USS Wasp, the Marines will fly the F-35B carrying air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons to mimic combat conditions. But they won’t be blowing anything up because they will carry inert warheads. The Marines also will be exploring how they can expand the “vertical envelope” around the ship…