Frank Kendall

WASHINGTON: Frank Kendall, the head of Pentagon acquisition, will not visit the Paris Air Show next month. In contrast to the flurry of senior American leaders who made it to the Farnborough Air Show last year when the F-35 was expected to make its first public appearance overseas, the Paris show looks to be a considerably lower key affair for the United States.

At this point, it looks as if only one person from Kendall’s acquisition, logistics and technology shop will attend. The US will not go unrepresented, however. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Heidi Grant are expected to attend. Other senior Air Force officials may attend. We’re awaiting word.

The other possible hot draw at the show, the F-35, will not be sitting on the tarmac or flying, as far as we know now. No senior officials from the F-35 Joint Program Office will attend either. This is a clear reflection of the importance of the US-UK partnership on the F-35. The Pentagon does not want the first major air show appearance by the F-35 to be in a country that is not buying — or might buy — the Joint Strike Fighter. And there’s not much reason to bring senior program officials if the plane won’t be there to help sell it.

F-35 Update

There is a fair bit of news on the way from the F-35 program. I’ll be heading out on May 26 with a small group of reporters to the USS Wasp to see the Marines execute Operational Test 1 with six F-35Bs.  Three days later, the annual CEO conference of the entire F-35 program will be held for the first time outside of the United States. Where, you ask? It’ll  be in Oslo, Norway. The Norwegians, who bumped up their overall defense spending last week by 3.4 percent to $5.6 billion for 2015, are keeping a close eye on the restive Russian bear and have been eager supporters of the F-35. Part of the reason for that commitment — aside from the government’s belief in the aircraft and their need for it — is that Norway really hopes to make their Joint Strike Missile one of the standard armaments on the entire global F-35 fleet.

The Wasp trial will test flight operations, maintenance operations and logistical supply chain support at sea. Obviously, this is a key prelude to the expected declaration sometime in July of Initial Operational Capability (IOC). As a reminder, here’s the standard the F-35B must meet: “Marine Corps F-35B IOC shall be declared when the first operational squadron is equipped with 10-16 aircraft, and US Marines are trained, manned, and equipped to conduct CAS, Offensive and Defensive Counter Air, Air Interdiction, Assault Support Escort, and Armed Reconnaissance in concert with Marine Air Ground Task Force resources and capabilities.”

An earlier version of this article managed to identify the capital of Norway as Cophenhagen. We apologize for the oversight — both of us read right past it — and ask the Danish people not to revert to their ancient Viking ways of vengeance. — the Editors. Colin especially apologizes. I’d just been talking to a Danish friend. The wonders of the mind!