F-35A

Lockheed Martin, F-35 Joint Program Office Sign Multi-Lot Production Deal

Marines assigned to the ‘Flying Leathernecks’ of Marine Fighter Squadron (VMFA) 122 perform maintenance on an F-35B Lightning II on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6) on Oct. 3, 2019. US Navy Photo

Lockheed Martin and the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office inked a long-awaited $34-billion deal to build the next three batches of 478 stealthy fighters.

Lockheed Martin and the JPO reached what was called a “handshake deal” to produce the next three batches, called...

https://news.usni.org/2019/10/29/lockheed-martin-f-35-joint-program-office-sign-multi-lot-production-deal

U.S. Navy Ends its Search for Downed Japanese F-35A

Undated photo of DSCV Van Gogh. A Navy salvage team is embarked on the ship that left Okinawa, Japan on April 24, 2019.

The U.S. Navy has ended its support to find a missing Japanese F-35A Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter that crashed last month, U.S. 7th Fleet announced late Wednesday.

“A U.S. Navy salvage team aboard a contracted vessel completed its mission supporting search and recovery operations with the Japan Self-Defense Forces after locating debris from the downed JASDF F-35A off the...

https://news.usni.org/2019/05/08/u-s-navy-ends-its-search-for-downed-japanese-f-35a

Navy Black Box Detector Joins in Deep Water Hunt for Missing Japanese F-35A

Undated photo of DSCV Van Gogh. A Navy salvage team is embarked on the ship that left Okinawa, Japan on April 24, 2019.

The U.S. Navy is employing tools it used in the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 to help find a Japanese F-35A that crashed earlier this month, U.S. 7th Fleet announced on Thursday.

The service is sending out a Navy salvage team with a commercial deep-sea submersible, unspecified unmanned underwater vehicles and a TPL-25 “black box detector” – a towed sensor...

https://news.usni.org/2019/04/26/navy-black-box-detector-joins-in-deep-water-hunt-for-missing-japanese-f-35a

Submarine Rescue Ship, Air Force U-2 Join Search for Missing Japanese Pilot, F-35A

A U-2 Dragon Lady flies while a civilian airliner flies above in the background at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., on June 20, 2018. US Air Force Photo

A U.S. surveillance plane and a recently commissioned Japanese submarine rescue ship are now scanning the ocean floor in search of a downed F-35A.

Over the weekend, Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force identified the pilot of the F-35A as Maj. Akinori Hosomi. His F-35A crashed into the Pacific Ocean Tuesday evening, about 85 miles east of Misawa...

https://news.usni.org/2019/04/15/submarine-rescue-ship-air-force-u-2-join-search-for-missing-japanese-pilot-f-35a

U.S. Destroyer, P-8 Poseidons Join Search for Missing Japanese F-35A Pilot; Officials Say Fighter Crashed

F-35A sits on Misawa AB flightline. US Air Force Photo

A U.S. guided-missile destroyer and P-8A Poseidons maritime surveillance aircraft have joined in the search for a Japanese Air Self Defense Force F-35A Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter pilot that went missing on Tuesday.

The P-8As, assigned Patrol Squadron (VP) 8 and Patrol Squadron (VP) 5, joined the search Monday night and destroyer USS Stethem (DDG-63) is underway to the search areas, U.S. 7th Fleet announced.

Japanese officials told...

https://news.usni.org/2019/04/10/u-s-destroyer-p-8-poseidons-join-search-for-missing-japanese-f-35a-pilot-officials-say-fighter-presumed-crashed

Navy Fighter Readiness Nearing 80 Percent Mission Capable Target

Cmdr. Leslie Mintz, executive officer of the “Blacklions” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 213, inspects an F/A-18F Super Hornet prior to her flight on board Naval Air Station Oceana, Va.. US Navy Photo

CAPITOL HILL – The Navy now boasts its Super Hornet fleet is routinely 63 to 75 percent mission capable, a significant jump from the fall when the Navy struggled to keep half of its F-18s ready to fly.

In September, then-Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis issued a memo to the service secretaries...

https://news.usni.org/2019/04/05/42436