Search

The article reports that the U.S. Air Force is resetting talks for the retirement of A-10 aircraft as it is a single-mission aircraft designed to provide close air support (CAS), and making way for Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft. Topics discussed include U.S. Air Force's fight with the U.S. Congress on the issue of retiring A-10, a summit on CAS being hosted by Air Combat Command chief General Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle, and lack of trained F-35 maintainers.

The article reports on the continued domination of the Lockheed Martin F-35 project in the global fighter market as of December 2014. Topics include is the U.S. Marine Corps' initial-operational-capability date for its F-35B unit, foreign military sales' interest in how well the F-35's entry into the service goes, and Italy's plan to roll out its first jet built at the Cameri facility. Also mentioned is the progress of Russia's Sukhoi toward its operational debut of the T-50 fighter.

The article reports that six out of nine partner nations of F-35 development program for Lockheed Martin F-35 multirole fighter will substantially maintain, repair and overhaul and upgrade (MRO&U) work on the single engine and stealthy fighter. It presents the views of U.S Air Force Lieutenant General Christopher Bogdan regarding the construction of heavy airframe maintenance in the U.S. It mentions that the much of the MRO&U work in Italy will be managed by Italian aerospace company Alenia.

The article discusses problems with the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine used in the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, focusing on how the issue could cause a delay in the operational debut of the aircraft. Other topics include the redesigning of engine components by the engine builder Pratt & Whitney, response to a fire in one of the F135 engines by defense contractor Lockheed Martin, and the payment for fixes by Pratt & Whitney.

The article reports that the U.S. Air Force is facing difficulty in linking F-35 and F-22 aircrafts operationally as the two fighter aircrafts cannot share data with the fleet or each other. Topics include the Air Force's plans to equip all aircrafts with the F-35 Multi-function Advanced Data Link system; the Multi- Domain Adaptable Processing System (MAPS) program that aims to connect aircrafts to fourth-generation fighters; and inclusion of infrared search and track sensor in MAPS hardware.

The article discusses the issues related to the debut of the Lockheed Martin F-35 multirole fighter at the Farnborough International Airshow. It mentions the problems associated with the F-35 engine problems as an embarrassment for engine supplier Pratt & Whitney and adds failure of the Bombardier's CSeries jet. It includes comments from Christopher Bogdan, head of the F-35 Joint Program Office, on reducing its costs.

The article focuses on challenges associated with operations of the F-35 operations with the U.S. Marine Corps. It informs that the aircraft faces major testing challenges, including continued trials of the 3F software package required for external weapons stores. It presents views of Jon Davis, the Marines' deputy commandant for aviation, who said that main goal of the F-35 operation is to maintain an 80 percent mission-capable rate.

The article reports on the testing of the Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter aircraft during the 2015 Green Flag exercises performed by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) at Nellis Air Force Base (AFB) in Nevada. Topics discussed include the notable performance and capabilities demonstrated by the F-35 aircraft, remarks from Nellis AFB spokesman Sanjay Allen regarding the F-35 flight testing results, and the lessons learned by F-35 pilots from the exercises.

The article focuses on the support by the U.S. Defense Department to block buy of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) from aerospace company Lockheed Martin. Topics covered include the interest shown by every F-35 partner nation in participating in a block buy of the single-engine jets, the benefit of the block buy to countries choosing to participate according to Pentagon procurement chief Frank Kendall and the country's partners in the Joint Strike Fighter project.

The article reports that the U.S. Marine Corps has expressed optimism about the F35B fighter jets following a test of the aircraft conducted at the USS Wasp amphibious ship. Topics discussed include the weapons and capabilities that are being considered for the F35Bs, the factors that may influence what the final capabilities of the F35Bs will be and the performance of the fighter jets in the tests.

The article informs about the operational testing (OT) trials of stealth aircraft F-35B by the U.S. Marine Corps. from May 18-29, 2015 for initial operational capability (IOC) declaration. Topics include assessment of aircraft-to-ship network communications interoperability, suitability and effectiveness of the aircraft, use of Automatic Logistic Information System Standard Operating Unit Version 1 (ALIS SOU V1) for the same, views of Paul Greenberg, a Marine Corps spokesman on the same.

The article reports on the maneuver tests conducted by the U.S. Air Force, where the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter was flown against fighter aircraft F-16s. According to Colonel Rod "Trash" Cregier, F-35 program director, the operational maneuver tests were conducted to see the performance of F-35 against F-16 in air space .It also presents the views of David "Doc" Nelson, Lockheed Martin F-35 site lead test pilot, on the same.

The article offers information on several F-35 test aircraft developed at the Edwards Air Force base (AFB) in California. It discusses functions of several test aircrafts including F-35 AF-1, F-35 AF-2 and F-35 C-3. It informs that AF-1 is used for testing of weapons, external weapon stores and flutter whereas AF-2 is used for testing of buffet, loads and high-angle-of-attacks. It mentions C-3 is an aircraft from NAS (Naval Air Station) Patuxent River, Maryland.

The article reports on flight testing of F-35 jet planes with a software patch to explore the effectiveness of upgrades designed to improve the fusion within the development of the multi-aircraft F-35. Topics discussed include reduction in pilot workload, analysis of the data collected through the aircraft's electro-optical targeting system, radio-frequency electronic warfare system and scanned array radar by defense contractor Lockheed Martin, and views of Air Force Colonel Roderick Cregier.

The article reports that an Israel has rejected a decision by its defense minister to procure an additional 31 Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighters and has limited the procurement of second batch of JSFs to only 13 as of 2014. Topics include the financing of the JSF procurement by the U.S., unclarity regarding whether the U.S. will agree to provide Israel with the same terms for the smaller deal, and opposition of the deal by Israeli's minister for intelligence Yuval Steinitz.

The article reports that due to the improved simulation technology incorporated into the full-mission simulators (FMS) of the F-35 fighterplane from Lockheed Martin, student pilot are able to ride it alone. Topics include the simulators employing the actual F-35 software used by flying aircraft, views of Mike Luntz, Lockheed Martin's F-35 training system director on the same, and F-35 pilot's education 60 percent simulator based.

The article discusses the absence of the multirole fighter plane F-35B from international debut at two air shows in Great Britain. Topics discussed include statement of Program Executive Officer U.S. Air Force Christopher Bogdan concerning U.S. Marine Corps' operational capability, cause of the fire accident in F135 , and views of Pentagon procurement chief Frank Kendall.

The article discusses the United States Air force being confident to achieve its plan to declare Initial Operational Capability(IOC) for the F-35A jet fighter by the end of December 2016. Topics include the problem of getting enough airmen trained to declare IOC, the air force plans at contracting some maintenance services from contractor Lockheed Martin and the air force blaming the United States Congress for the maintainer shortfall.

The article reports that the U.S. Air Force (USAF) has been expecting that the upgraded version of F-35A fighter planes to be delivered by aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin, will meet initial operational capability (IOC) by December 2016. It presents views of USAF Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh and USAF Lieutenant General Christopher Bogdan on the issue. It also highlights the U.S. Marine Corps' plans for declaring IOC with its F-35B fighters during July-December 2015.

The article discusses the preparations being made by the U.S. Marine Corps to conduct trials for its first operational testing (OT) period for the F-35B fighter plane. It mentions the comments made by Major Paul Greenberg, a Marine Corps spokesman, on the shipboard operational testing trials for F-35 variants on May 18-25, 2015. It also discusses the use of 2B software package in the trials.