UPDATED — LRIP 5 Contract Agreement Reached CAPITOL HILL: Sen. John McCain took to the Senate floor this afternoon to criticize Lockheed Martin’s handling of the Joint Strike Fighter program and pressed for the company “to assume an increased share of any cost overruns.” McCain, who cited Breaking Defense’s interview last week with F-35 program… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Fatigue testing and analysis are turning up so many potential cracks and “hot spots” in the Joint Strike Fighter’s airframe that the production rate of the F-35 should be slowed further over the next few years, the program’s head declared in an interview. “The analyzed hot spots that have arisen in the last 12… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The Air Force is turning to its allies for help as it looks to maintain a viable global presence in the face of coming budget cuts, a top Air Force general said today. The service expects to get much smaller as the Pentagon’s struggles to meet the White House deficit reduction goals and possible… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Congress’ failure to enact Super Committee cuts is likely to lead to serious reductions in funding for Pentagon weapon systems, according to one of the most respected defense budget analysts. Todd Harrison, the budget analyst at the respected Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, told a group of reporters eager to go home for… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The nation’s top military officer today insisted he did not oppose the expensive and controversial F-35, on which three of the four services he leads depend on for their future air capabilities. Asked about his recent congressional testimony that the nation “might not be able to afford” the three F-35 variants, Army Gen. Martin… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: When then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Gen. James Amos that he was going to put the F-35B vertical landing version of the Joint Strike Fighter on “probation” because of testing, structure and propulsion problems, the Marine Corps commandant didn’t argue; he just explained. “I looked at him and said, ‘Sir, we need this airplane,’”… Keep reading →

President Obama’s visit to Darwin, a port city, in Australia’s Northern Territories, celebrates 60 years of the ANZUS Treaty, centerpiece of one of the closest defense relationships on the planet. Darwin is also the home of a forward Royal Australian Air Force base and other military facilities. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the president… Keep reading →

Washington: Last week Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the U.S. military would turn into a ‘paper tiger’ if it is hit with a $1 trillion dollar budget cut over the next decade. Today, he described in painstaking detail what exactly that would mean. In a letter sent today to Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member… Keep reading →

Fort Worth: Lockheed Martin’s mile-long aircraft factory here sent the the twelfth F-35 Joint Strike Fighter produced this year to Eglin Air Force Base last Wednesday. Though no cause for champagne, the delivery marks an important milestone in the company’s efforts to ramp up production. The plane took less than half as many touch-labor hours… Keep reading →

Washington: The Pentagon is digging in on the Korean peninsula and increasing its commitment throughout the rest of the Pacific. That would seem to augur well for sales of F-35s to South Korea. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta recently announced the United States’ 28,000-man garrison in South Korea would be staying indefinitely. Washington and Seoul continue… Keep reading →