F-35 Ahoy! Navy Version Of JSF Faces Nimitz’s Tests

F-35 Ahoy! Navy Version Of JSF Faces Nimitz’s Tests
F-35 Ahoy! Navy Version Of JSF Faces Nimitz’s Tests

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…

Air Force F-35 IOC May Be In Peril; Pratt, DoD Shake On $1B F135 Deal

Air Force F-35 IOC May Be In Peril; Pratt, DoD Shake On $1B F135 Deal
Air Force F-35 IOC May Be In Peril; Pratt, DoD Shake On $1B F135 Deal

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…

DoD, Lockheed Shake On 29 F-35s; Price Drops 3.6%

WASHINGTON: It’s finally official. After months of senior program and Pentagon officials saying they were really close to a deal, Lockheed Martin and the Joint Program Office just announced they’ve got agreement in principle for the Defense Department to buy another 29 Joint Strike Fighters. The eighth Low Rate Initial Production contract includes 19 F-35As, six F-35Bs…

Navy’s F-35 Tailhook Passes Initial Tests; Carrier Flights In October

Navy’s F-35 Tailhook Passes Initial Tests; Carrier Flights In October
Navy’s F-35 Tailhook Passes Initial Tests; Carrier Flights In October

The F-35C, the Navy version of the Joint Strike Fighter and the plane most in danger of being cut or reduced by its service, has passed the first round of critical tests of its tail hook, the part of the plane that makes traditional carrier landings possible. “All flight test objectives were met,” Joe DellaVedova,…

The Navy’s Carrier Crunch: Even Without Budget Cuts, Deployments Will Drop

The Navy’s Carrier Crunch: Even Without Budget Cuts, Deployments Will Drop
The Navy’s Carrier Crunch: Even Without Budget Cuts, Deployments Will Drop

WASHINGTON: The Navy’s in a carrier crunch. US commanders around the world keep asking for carriers to cover trouble spots from Syria, Iran, and Afghanistan to the Western Pacific and the South China Sea, but the Navy doesn’t have enough to go around. And they may well lose another. In recent years, amazingly, the Navy has managed to increase the number of aircraft…

Navy Needs More Cash If Syria Strikes Last Past September: CNO

Navy Needs More Cash If Syria Strikes Last Past September: CNO
Navy Needs More Cash If Syria Strikes Last Past September: CNO

WASHINGTON: If “this potential operation” against Syria continues into October, when the new fiscal year begins, the Navy’s going to need more money. That, in turn, means Congress has to act. Ideally, legislators would pass a supplemental spending bill, Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Jonathan Greenert said this morning. Failing a supplemental, though, Greenert said…