BIG launch for NG LM ULA RT @LockheedMartin: #SBIRS #GEO-2 spacecraft is powered up & ready to fly! webcast here ow.ly/jdHJa colinclarkaol
By Colin ClarkWeapons and radars built with modular design are relevant and flexible as threats evolve
Next-generation modular radars and new composable weapon capabilities solve a critical problem for the U.S. and allied militaries.
We offer below a useful set of insights about the new new incoming CEO of Lockheed Martin by defense consultant Loren Thompson. Thompson, a member of the Breaking Defense Board of Contributors, plays a complex role in the defense community — sometimes a consultant, sometimes an analyst — but he is always someone with excellent…
By Colin ClarkNATIONAL HARBOR: If Lockheed Martin harbored any hopes that the Pentagon might not be fully supportive of Maj. Gen. Christopher Bogdan’s critical comments about Lockheed Martin’s performance on the Joint Strike Fighter they were dashed this morning. Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter referred to Bogdan as “Chris” and told the packed Air Force Association conference…
By Colin ClarkST. LOUIS: Boeing renewed its campaign to bash Lockheed Martin’s F-35 and promote its F-18 fighters today, as the president of Boeing Military Aircraft slammed the Joint Strike Fighter while noting declining defense budgets here and abroad. “The F-35 continues to delay and delay,” Christopher Chadwick told a group of reporters at Boeing’s defense headquarters…
By Colin ClarkWASHINGTON: When then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Gen. James Amos that he was going to put the F-35B vertical landing version of the Joint Strike Fighter on “probation” because of testing, structure and propulsion problems, the Marine Corps commandant didn’t argue; he just explained. “I looked at him and said, ‘Sir, we need this airplane,’”…
By Richard WhittleFort Worth: Lockheed Martin’s mile-long aircraft factory here sent the the twelfth F-35 Joint Strike Fighter produced this year to Eglin Air Force Base last Wednesday. Though no cause for champagne, the delivery marks an important milestone in the company’s efforts to ramp up production. The plane took less than half as many touch-labor hours…
By Richard WhittleWashington: If you want proof that budgets are getting tighter and the Pentagon gets the message, just look at the last two days. One system is dead and two are badly wounded, potentially totaling cuts of more than $22 billion. The Army made it sort of official yesterday that the Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and…
By Colin Clark
The connected warrior will have a common operating picture even when contested
Mobile, distributed command and control requires a common operating picture even in contested environments.
The Marine Corps is taking the use of unmanned air systems to the next level, deploying pilotless cargo helicopters to Afghanistan to test their ability to supply troops in the field without trucks facing the risk of deadly IEDs. The six-month demonstration of the feasibility of a cargo UAS in a combat environment will involve…
By Otto KreisherWashington: Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, where the F-35 is assembled, wrote presumptive Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter today, expressing “disappointment” with Carter’s “apparent lack of commitment to the success” of the largest “defense acquisition program in our nation’s history.” Cornyn is clearly part of a greatly stepped up lobbying effort by Lockheed Martin to…
By Colin ClarkWashington: A little-noticed but extraordinary event took place during the Paris Air Show and it had nothing to do with the show. The Senate Armed Services Committee came within a whisker of officially killing the F-35 program. The June 21 vote in a closed committee session came on an amendment offered by Sen. John McCain…
By Colin ClarkThe C-130J, originally foisted by Congress on an Air Force that didn’t really want it, has since become a staple of the U.S. and many foreign air forces. The House Appropriations Committee approved $1.1 billion for 11 Js in its version of the 2012 spending bill compared to $988.2 billion approved by their Senate colleagues.…
By Colin ClarkF-35 AF-1 and AF-2 Ferry Flight to Edwards AFB showing 2 F-35s in flight and aerial refueling Depending on what figures you use, the United States is either going to spend as much as $1 trillion — with a T — on the F-35 program over its life or something closer to $379 billion to…
By Colin Clark
Defense Companies Must Do More Than Lobby Against Cuts
This time it’s different. For more than a year, defense companies have taken measured steps to prepare for defense spending budget cuts. Many pruned corporate spending, sending fewer executives to foreign air shows. Some, like Lockheed Martin Corp., even offered sweeping buyouts. Others even sold off headache-causing businesses, as Northrop Grumman Corp. did by spinning…
By August Cole