PENTAGON: It’s official — the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will begin operational test and evaluation next month, marking one of the most significant transitions for the closely watched program. Next summer, presuming no show stoppers appear during OTE, the program will move to full production. “On October 2, 2018, Undersecretary of Defense Ellen Lord convened… Keep reading →

JSF HQ: The head of the Joint Strike Fighter program, Vice Adm. Mat Winter, says the crucial operating costs of the F-35 dropped significantly in 2017. Winters told a group of defense reporters that the costs of operating the F-35 fleet dropped by $1.1 million “per tail per year across the fleet” and cited “a… Keep reading →

As the Pentagon wrestles with how to ready itself for competition with China and Russia, the issue of how to move troops, equipment, and supplies around the globe is becoming increasingly important.

102 F-35As (Air Force) for $89.2 million apiece, down 5.4 percent from LRIP 10;
25 F-35Bs (Marines & Royal Navy) for $115.5 million each, down 5.7 percent; and 14 F-35Cs (US Navy) for $107.7 million each, down 11.1 percent.

WASHINGTON: Aerospace behemoth Boeing will build the new T-X jet trainer, the Air Force announced this afternoon, beating out the Lockheed/KAI T-50 and the Leonardo DRS/CAE T-100 after years of maneuvering and uncertainty that saw multiple companies drop out of the competition. The first planes will enter service at Randolph Air Force base in 2023, with… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The first-ever real-world strike by an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is a big symbolic moment, as the Pentagon is well aware. It’s also a milestone towards making the F-35 a close-support aircraft to bomb targets threatening US ground troops, replacing the beloved A-10 Warthog. That’s why the military not only had a press release… Keep reading →

Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson announced “the Air Force we need”, a significant expansion of the Air Force from 312 operational squadrons to 386. One thing is clear. It will be really expensive. The annual additional cost would be about $37 billion at a time when budget projections show no increase, and up to 94,000 additional personnel, active and reserve.

AFA: The Air Force is developing smart bombs that detonate differently depending on the target. These “Dialable Effects Munitions” could turn up the blast to devastate an enemy camp or turn it down to kill a single terrorist without hurting nearby civilians. In the extreme case, said Col. Garry Haase, the director of munitions at… Keep reading →

CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: The Air Force threw out two big numbers this week, but one of Washington’s leading budget analysts doesn’t think either of them is credible. One is the service’s unsolicited estimate that President Trump’s plan to create an independent Space Force – largely carved out of the Air Force –… Keep reading →

What did Amazon founder, Washington Post owner and space entrepreneur Jeff Bezos tell the Air Force Association?

Don’t overthink it.
Don’t sweat the small stuff, but it’s not all small stuff.
On low stakes decisions, you should go fast, experiment, try and fail and try again; but on the big stuff — the irreversible decisions — for God’s sake, take your time.