Air Force Declares F-35A IOC; Major Milestone For Biggest US Program

Air Force Declares F-35A IOC; Major Milestone For Biggest US Program
Air Force Declares F-35A IOC; Major Milestone For Biggest US Program

UPDATED: Adds ACC Carlisle, CSAF Goldfein, SecAF James JPO Bogdan Comments PENTAGON: Critics of the F-35 warned it was too heavy. They warned its stealth wasn’t good enough. They warned stealth, however good, wasn’t enough against advanced detection methods. They warned its range was too short and its weapons load too light. They warned it was…

F-35 Christmas Presents: 45 Planes (And More?)

F-35 Christmas Presents: 45 Planes (And More?)
F-35 Christmas Presents: 45 Planes (And More?)

WASHINGTON: After years and years of busted schedules, cost overruns and technical challenges, the F-35 program is expected to end 2015 on a high note, with all production goals met and solid progress resolving the ejection seat issues that threaten lighter pilots. I understand from industry and program sources that, after getting stalled, there is a good…

Norway’s Joint Strike Missile Tempts Aussies; Raytheon Likes It Too

Norway’s Joint Strike Missile Tempts Aussies; Raytheon Likes It Too
Norway’s Joint Strike Missile Tempts Aussies; Raytheon Likes It Too

FARNBOROUGH AIR SHOW: It’s a remarkable story, really. A fairly tiny country, Norway, decides to place a $1.3 billion bet on developing one of the world’s most capable missiles to be fired from what will probably become the world’s most popular fighter, the F-35. The missile, known as the Joint Strike Missile, may become a…

NO F-35s Coming To Farnborough; Safety First, Says SecDef Hagel

NO F-35s Coming To Farnborough; Safety First, Says SecDef Hagel
NO F-35s Coming To Farnborough; Safety First, Says SecDef Hagel

UPDATED: Safety Engine Inspections Make Trans-Atlantic Flights Impracticable   FARNBOROUGH AIR SHOW: That whoosh sound you just heard was the air rushing out of all the Pentagon officials, Lockheed Martin employees and the myriads who still hoped the F-35Bs would fly here. Rear Adm. John Kirby issued this statement at 7 p.m BST during a…

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James: Top 3 Tough Money Choices

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James: Top 3 Tough Money Choices
Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James: Top 3 Tough Money Choices

FARNBOROUGH AIR SHOW: Deborah Lee James had been in office a very short time when she learned of a crisis in the Air Force’s nuclear force and had to hold her first press conference as the service’s top civilian to discuss cheating and drugs. A tough start to a new job. She still faces a myriad…

Frank Kendall, Pentagon Acquisition Czar, At Farnborough On F-35, Arms Exports, Drones

Frank Kendall, Pentagon Acquisition Czar, At Farnborough On F-35, Arms Exports, Drones
Frank Kendall, Pentagon Acquisition Czar, At Farnborough On F-35, Arms Exports, Drones

We’ll let this video speak for itself. Frank Kendall, undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, spoke with Breaking Defense at Farnborough this afternoon.

Farnborough Fancy Flights, Vol. 1!

Farnborough Fancy Flights, Vol. 1!
Farnborough Fancy Flights, Vol. 1!

Ah, the lyric wonders of bad-ass fighters and huge civilian airlines flying close to the found and high into the heavens. It’s Farnborough, baby!

F-35 Fleet Grounding Lifted; Farnborough Flights ‘Likely’

F-35 Fleet Grounding Lifted; Farnborough Flights ‘Likely’
F-35 Fleet Grounding Lifted; Farnborough Flights ‘Likely’

UPDATED: Frank Kendall Says Decisions Coming Soon on Farnborough Flights FARNBOROUGH AIR SHOW: An official statement from the Pentagon is on the way but I can confirm that the order grounding the F-35 fleet has been lifted and the pilots waiting on 24-hour standby may well be scrambling fo their planes as I type. Just…

UCLASS RFP Out ‘Soon’ As Joint Staff, Navy, Hill Battle Over Requirements

UCLASS RFP Out ‘Soon’ As Joint Staff, Navy, Hill Battle Over Requirements
UCLASS RFP Out ‘Soon’ As Joint Staff, Navy, Hill Battle Over Requirements

FARNBOROUGH AIR SHOW: The Navy’s carrier-based drone known as UCLASS continues to face challenges from the Joint Staff, parts of the Navy and, perhaps most importantly, Capitol HIll. While the head of the program, Rear Adm. Mat Winter, told reporters here yesterday that a Request for Proposal will be issued “very soon,” the program’s requirements…

Farnborough Begins With Many Americans, Few Russians And No F-35, Yet

FARNBOROUGH AIR SHOW: The trains ran a wee late this morning but the weather was glorious, a perfect English summer day that would have suited the F-35 to a tee for its foreign debut. Perhaps the most arresting fact of this show is that while the American military was absent from the last Paris Air…

F-35 May Still Visit Farnborough; All 98 Engines Inspected

F-35 May Still Visit Farnborough; All 98 Engines Inspected
F-35 May Still Visit Farnborough; All 98 Engines Inspected

FARNBOROUGH AIR SHOW:  Frank Kendall, the head Pentagon buyer, appeared here today on a high-powered panel of senior Pentagon civilians and industry leaders, and averred that the F-35A fire last month does not pose a systemic risk to the program. Air Force Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, head of the F-35 program, told a packed room…

US Bounces Back At Farnborough After Paris No-Shows

US Bounces Back At Farnborough After Paris No-Shows
US Bounces Back At Farnborough After Paris No-Shows

Marion C. Blakey, a member of the Breaking Defense Board of Contributors, is president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association. The U.S. aerospace and defense industry will be out in full force at this year’s Farnborough International Air Show (July 14-20), demonstrating the aircraft and equipment that is helping our nation and our allies…

The $10B Next Generation Jammer Is ‘On Track, On Schedule’

The $10B Next Generation Jammer Is ‘On Track, On Schedule’
The $10B Next Generation Jammer Is ‘On Track, On Schedule’

LONDON: Farnborough is an air show, but many of the briefings scheduled by American companies this year focus on electronic warfare and missiles — not airplanes. Raytheon, winner of the Next Generation Jammer competition, and the other four defense giants know that much of the money to be made in the next decade will come…

Kendall ID’s F-35 Fire Cause: ‘Not Systemic’

Kendall ID’s F-35 Fire Cause: ‘Not Systemic’
Kendall ID’s F-35 Fire Cause: ‘Not Systemic’

LONDON: The head of Pentagon acquisition told reporters here today that “we do not see at this point what I call a systemic problem” resulting from the F-35A fire that led to the grounding of the fleet. “We understand to a degree what happened here. The question is why did it happen,” according to reporting by…