Doing The Math: Saving A-10s By Cutting F-35s

Doing The Math: Saving A-10s By Cutting F-35s
Doing The Math: Saving A-10s By Cutting F-35s

In this article, one of the Air Force’s own, longtime Breaking Defense contributor Lt. Col. Dan Ward, runs the numbers on his service’s plan to scrap the beloved A-10 Warthog and – now that Congress has thoroughly rejected the idea – suggests an alternative: a modest trim to the massive F-35 program might just save…

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QDR: Air Force Circles Wagons Around F-35; No Big Push For Drones

QDR: Air Force Circles Wagons Around F-35; No Big Push For Drones
QDR: Air Force Circles Wagons Around F-35; No Big Push For Drones

WASHINGTON: The head of the Air Force’s Quadrennial Defense Review office made very clear today that the service will do all it can to protect the F-35 for a pretty compelling reason: “We must be able to project power in contested environments (A2/AD) and the Joint Strike Fighter is that machine.” Kwast told reporters after his public…

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F-35 Launches First Air To Air Missile; Concurrency Costs Plunge $500 Million

F-35 Launches First Air To Air Missile; Concurrency Costs Plunge $500 Million
F-35 Launches First Air To Air Missile; Concurrency Costs Plunge $500 Million

[UPDATED with video & Winslow Wheeler comment] WASHINGTON: It’s been a tough week for critics of the F-35. Concurrency costs dropped an impressive half billion dollars — note to Winslow Wheeler — and the Air Force version launched an air to air missile for the first time. The F-35A launched the AMRAAM missile on Wednesday (it…

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Lockheed Dismisses $1 Trillion Estimate For F-35 JSF

FIGHTER DEMONSTRATION CENTER, ARLINGTON, VA: Lockheed Martin executives gathered to tout their F-35 Joint Strike Fighter dismissed a widely reported Pentagon estimate that the aircraft would ultimately cost $1.1 trillion to develop, build, and operate over 55 years. In fact, they argued, the F-35 will cost less to operate than the airplanes it will replace…

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Winslow Wheeler Moves To POGO

Notorious defense budget analyst moves to POGO! Winslow Wheeler, member of AOL D’s Board of Contributors, will keep annoying folks for us. colinclarkaol

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House Sidling Up to Major Defense Cuts; Lawmakers Look for a Leader

Washington: They aren’t there yet, but if one peers deep into the voting tendencies of the House Republican Caucus, there are clear indications they are growing more comfortable with the idea of making significant cuts to the Defense Department budget. “The rising tide against defense spending is particularly noticeable among Republicans. A tally by Darcy…

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