Firms Rev Up For B-52 Re-Engine Battle

Firms Rev Up For B-52 Re-Engine Battle
Firms Rev Up For B-52 Re-Engine Battle

The Air Force hopes replacing the engines will keep the venerable B-52 in the air through 2050 — just two years shy of a century.

Post-Merger, Raytheon Intel & Space Sees Role Gluing Together JADC2

Post-Merger, Raytheon Intel & Space Sees Role Gluing Together JADC2
Post-Merger, Raytheon Intel & Space Sees Role Gluing Together JADC2

“We’re positioning ourselves where we’re going to be agnostic in terms of material solutions,” says President Roy Azevedo, instead focusing on architectural solutions to customer problems.

Lockheed Gets New CEO In June

Lockheed Gets New CEO In June
Lockheed Gets New CEO In June

Marillyn Hewson “will depart the company on a high note, with all of its business units performing well and its share price several times higher than it was when she became CEO,” said analyst Loren Thompson.

Ford Aircraft Carriers Not Ready For F-35s, So Aging Vinson Gets The Call

Ford Aircraft Carriers Not Ready For F-35s, So Aging Vinson Gets The Call
Ford Aircraft Carriers Not Ready For F-35s, So Aging Vinson Gets The Call

The long road the F-35 took to finally being ready to deploy has forced the Navy’s new $13 billion carrier class to leave the plane behind — for now at least.

ATEC Appeals To Hill For Helicopter Engine Dough

ATEC Appeals To Hill For Helicopter Engine Dough
ATEC Appeals To Hill For Helicopter Engine Dough

Rebuffed by the Army and GAO in its bid to re-engine aging helicopters, ATEC has gone over their heads to Congress and asked legislators for a second chance.

GE’s ITEP Win & The Army’s Inch-By-Inch Revolution

GE’s ITEP Win & The Army’s Inch-By-Inch Revolution
GE’s ITEP Win & The Army’s Inch-By-Inch Revolution

Having wasted tens of billions and almost 30 years since the end of the Cold War, the Army is out of time. But after decades of incremental improvements, its existing weapons — including the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that GE’s new engine will upgrade – are overweight, underpowered, and running out of room to grow. Meanwhile, the Army’s attempts at a high-tech great leap forward kept getting cancelled as unaffordable, unfeasible, or both.

F-35 Flights Suspended While F135 Fuel Tubes Checked; UK F-35Bs Keep Flying on HMS QE

F-35 Flights Suspended While F135 Fuel Tubes Checked; UK F-35Bs Keep Flying on HMS QE
F-35 Flights Suspended While F135 Fuel Tubes Checked; UK F-35Bs Keep Flying on HMS QE

UPDATED: Adds Rep. Turner Pledge To Hold HASC Hearings WASHINGTON: It may not last long, but the entire F-35 fleet — all versions from all countries — was just grounded “while the enterprise conducts a fleet-wide inspection of a fuel tube within the engine on all F-35 aircraft.” The British — clearly hungry to keep…

Pratt & Whitney Enters Incubator Biz To Slash Development Time in Half

Pratt & Whitney Enters Incubator Biz To Slash Development Time in Half
Pratt & Whitney Enters Incubator Biz To Slash Development Time in Half

As the Pentagon and the defense industry rush to keep up with the shift to great power competition and the fight for tech workers rushing for Silicon Valley, the idea of technology incubators is catching fire.

Air Force Leaders Dodge On Trump ‘Space Force’; Up To $8B To Reengine B-52

Air Force Leaders Dodge On Trump ‘Space Force’; Up To $8B To Reengine B-52
Air Force Leaders Dodge On Trump ‘Space Force’; Up To $8B To Reengine B-52

In a somewhat surreal scenario, President Trump yesterday riffed on the idea of a “Space Force,” something he’d clearly been briefed on at some point. And the Air Force expects new engines for the B-52 fleet to cost up to $8 billion.

One Big F-35 Contract: $2.8B Of $3.7B For Foreign Planes

One Big F-35 Contract: $2.8B Of $3.7B For Foreign Planes
One Big F-35 Contract: $2.8B Of $3.7B For Foreign Planes

WASHINGTON: After the markets closed on a sleepy and rainy summer Friday afternoon, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus was ousted and DHS Secretary John Kelly named to take his place, and, oh, by the way, a $3.69 billion contract was awarded Lockheed Martin for 50 foreign F-35s and work on the Lot 11…

If Trump Wants Lower F-35 Costs, He Should Compete F135 Engine

If Trump Wants Lower F-35 Costs, He Should Compete F135 Engine
If Trump Wants Lower F-35 Costs, He Should Compete F135 Engine

Donald Trump has bemoaned the “over budget, behind schedule” F-35 program. He opened his first press conference as president-elect with a vow to do “big things” to bring down the aircraft’s cost and improve performance. That will take more than jaw-boning. Applying heat to Lockheed will reduce costs to a degree, but it would take another…

Big SPAR Army Review May Topple ITEP

Big SPAR Army Review May Topple ITEP
Big SPAR Army Review May Topple ITEP

Critics say the Army could end up wasting billions by developing a better engine for its Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopters even as the joint Future Vertical Lift (FVL) initiative gets underway to replace those aircraft. The critics are wrong, program officials assure us. But the critics still disagree. A new Army…

Another Baby Step For Army Aviation’s ‘Top Priority’

Another Baby Step For Army Aviation’s ‘Top Priority’
Another Baby Step For Army Aviation’s ‘Top Priority’

Army aviation’s “top modernization priority program” – at least that’s what they call it – took another baby step forward this week. The service awarded preliminary design review contracts to the two competitors vying to build a better engine to power the service’s vast fleet of Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopters.…

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…