A Member of the F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team prepares to launch Capt. Andrew “Dojo” Olson, F-35 pilot, during the Bagotville International Air Show in Quebec, Canada on June 22, 2019. US Air Force Photo
THE PENTAGON – The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program’s civilian and military management are in the midst of a changeover just as government officials from the U.S. and partner countries are considering ejecting Turkey from involvement in the aircraft’s manufacture and...
An F-35C Lightning II fighter jet, attached to the “Argonauts” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147, flies in formation for a photo exercise in Lemoore, Calif., on Nov. 16, 2018. US Navy Photo
F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter lead-contractor Lockheed Martin reconfigured a host of its contracts with its suppliers to lower the aircraft price tag, improve readiness and control ongoing maintenance costs.
Lockheed Martin moved a raft of suppliers into performance-based logistics contracts or...
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...
F/A-18E Super Hornets from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 136 “Knighthawks” fly in formation during a photo exercise over Calif., on March 12, 2019. US Navy Photo
CAPITOL HILL — The Navy has ruled out breathing air contamination as a cause of physiological episodes, but a complex set of conditions – including both cabin pressure issues and human factors – has led to the rates of pilots experiencing PEs this current fiscal year being back on the rise.
Though the service has not yet pinpointed a...
Test pilot Billie Flynn pilots an F-35C Lightning II test aircraft at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., April 4, 2018. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin/Released)
Seeking to install long-term cost savings into what is routinely derided by critics as an overly expensive aircraft, the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program director worked a new incentive regime into the recently inked contract with Lockheed Martin.
The $11.5-billion contract to build Lot 11 — the 141...
https://news.usni.org/2018/10/01/new-contract-incentives-encourage-efficient-f-35-production