Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, head of the F-35 program, shut up a room full of reporters yesterday. That’s right. None of us said a word for about 15 minutes yesterday while Bogdan told us he wanted to see us get our facts right about the F-35 program. But what really got our attention was his…
By Colin ClarkA new approach to speed, scale and efficiency for the industrial base
Radars, EW, EO/IR, space imagery, and microelectronics are brought under one roof for a streamlined approach to common people and factories.
Sen. Kelly Ayotte, leader of the congressional push to keep the A-10 flying, is calling out the Air Force. The service claims it won’t have enough mechanics to keep both F-35A Joint Strike Fighters and A-10 Warthogs flying safely and thus may miss the F-35’s politically important Initial Operating Capability milestone for the F-35A because Congress won’t retire the A-10.…
By Colin Clark
WASHINGTON: The next two weeks will be enormously important for the Navy’s carrier-based version of the Joint Strike Fighter as two F-35Cs undergo extensive testing operating from the USS Nimitz. The Navy has been the least committed of the three services buying versions of the Joint Strike Fighter, so if the two planes being tested…
By Colin Clark
F-35 JOINT PROGRAM OFFICE: When Sen. Kelly Ayotte and her supporters blocked retirement of the A-10 fleet, it’s not likely they knew the F-35 program might suffer. But that’s exactly what Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, head of the huge F-35 program, told reporters this afternoon will happen unless something changes. In the conference room where the F-35 program…
By Colin Clark
WASHINGTON: The F-35’s long-term costs may “not be affordable” and appear to be substantially higher than those of the existing combat aircraft fleets that the Joint Strike Fighter will replace, the Government Acocuntability Office says in a draft report. “The annual F-35 operating and support costs are estimated to be considerably higher than the combined…
By Colin Clark
NATIONAL HARBOR: When the F-35A exploded June 23 on the runway, it took about 10 days before the Pentagon had worked out how to communicate to the public, to the Navy, Marines and Air Force and to its international partners what had happened, was happening and would happen. Today, Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan said that his…
By Colin ClarkUPDATED: Lockheed offers official reply to Gen. Bogdan. (8 a.m. Tuesday) NATIONAL HARBOR: The likely new leader of the Joint Strike Fighter program opened what looks to be a new era — at least rhetorically — today offering large dollops of what he called “straight talk” about both Lockheed Martin’s performance and the government’s. Maj.…
By Colin Clark
A major overhaul is coming in software for missile warning
Space Systems Command’s FORGE program is the first, major missile-warning software modernization effort in 20 years.
