Video of the F-35B hovering at the Farnborough airshow for the first time.
By Colin ClarkNew Army mounted system won’t play favorites when it comes to C5ISR, EW and A-PNT
The CMOSS Mounted Form Factor will facilitate tech insertion for new capabilities while co-existing with the Mounted Family of Computer Systems.
CORRECTED: Fixes CEO Marillyn Hewson’s name. Sigh… FARNBOROUGH: A pair of cost initiatives by Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems and the Pentagon should save up to $4 billion over the life of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, officials said here today. Frank Kendall, the head Pentagon buyer, the F-35 Joint Program Office, and…
By Colin Clark
The videos tell the tale. A Royal Navy F-35B performed the first public hover and vertical landing before an enthusiastic crowd here at the Royal International Air Tattoo. Below is video of the very stable and long hover.
By Colin Clark
RIAT: Who knows if it’s coincidence or not, but the Pentagon today announced that after a seemingly endless negotiation for the tenth Low Rate Initial Production lot, Pratt and Whitney was awarded $1.5 billion for 99 F135 engines, as well as backups and spare parts. Unit prices for the conventional takeoff and landing systems came down by 2.6 percent.…
By Colin Clark
CAPITOL HILL: The rate of non-fatal accidents has doubled in Marine Corps aviation since last year, and the Marines are turning to outside experts to figure out why. So-called Class C mishap rates — nonfatal incidents that cause $50,000 to $500,000 in damage or loss of work time — have occurred in 2016 at double their previous…
By Richard Whittle
PENTAGON: He won’t be there for long, less than half a day, but Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work will attend the Farnborough Air Show and discuss his Third Offset Strategy in closed-door meetings. It marks a boost in firepower for the air show, which has usually seen Frank Kendall, the head of Pentagon acquisition, there as…
By Colin Clark
ROC-X – The solution to organic precision strike capabilities
At AUSA Global Force 2024, IAI will present integrated, AI-driven combat systems – both manned and unmanned – that are opening new opportunities on the battlefield.
UPDATED: With F-35A Pilot And Mechanic Interviews CORRECTED: Caption Misidentified MSgt De Leon As Former Deputy Defense Secretary Rudy… The Air Force pilots who flew the F-35A models across the Atlantic Thursday for seven hours and 45 minutes reported a nearly flawless ride in a comfortable cockpit that included seven airborne refuelings. But the most…
By Colin Clark
When the Marine Corps developed the V-22 Osprey in the 1980s, the vision was pretty simple: fly troops ashore in amphibious assaults launched from beyond the range of anti-ship missiles. Now they’re turning the Osprey into a gas station. The Marines clearly envision the tiltrotor as a sort of flying Swiss Army knife. One clear example…
By Richard Whittle
The decline in V-22 Osprey orders from the U.S. military in coming years means the tiltrotor transport’s manufacturers are likely to spend a lot of time wooing foreign military officers at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Exposition May 16-18 at National Harbor, Md. – especially Britain’s new First Sea Lord, Adm. Sir Philip Jones. Representatives from Bell Helicopter…
By Richard Whittle
WASHINGTON: With the rise of high-tech threats from Russia and China, the Marine Corps plans a major increase in its forces devoted to jamming, hacking, and deceiving enemies. That includes: putting new sensors and jammers in everything from ground units to drones to V-22 Osprey tiltrotors and KC-130 transports, despite a tight budget; adding 1,000 to…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: Of the Marine Corps’ $2.7 billion in unfunded requirements for 2017 — items that didn’t quite make the president’s budget request — over sixty percent, $1.7 billion, goes to aircraft purchases and upgrades. The next largest category is $371 million for operations and maintenance, the largest single piece of which is $121 million…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: Frank Kendall signaled in December that the F-35 was no longer immune from budget cuts and it looks as if he knew what he was talking about. The story out this afternoon is that five Air Force F-35As will be cut from the fiscal 2017 budget request. Mackenzie Eaglen said at a Brookings Institution…
By Colin Clark
The Senate Armed Services Committee approved the nomination of the new Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. David Goldfein, today by voice vote. He is almost certain to get full Senate approval soon. This will round out the rare and noteworthy turnover of the entire slate of Joint Chiefs over the past year, including the National…
By Mackenzie Eaglen