Aboard the USS Wasp: The sleek, angular plane pulls up to the flight line. The jet’s single engine rumbles slowly while waiting for the high-sign to takeoff. Once the member of the deck crew threw his thumbs up, the jet’s center fan — which gives the F-35 the ability to take off from smaller carriers… Keep reading →

Washington: The new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff put Capitol Hill on notice today, telling lawmakers that DoD may not be able to afford all three versions of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. In his first appearance before House Armed Services Committee as chairman, Gen. Martin Dempsey said that buying the Air Force,… Keep reading →

The French operational experience in and off of Libya has neatly dovetailed with that of the U.S. Marines and suggests a way forward for American thinking about littoral operations. With the decision of the U.S. national command authority to “lead from behind,” the Marines were almost inadvertently given a leading role. What “lead from behind”… Keep reading →

CORRECTED Indianapolis: One day after the Marines successfully landed a Joint Strike Fighter on a ship for the first time, Rolls-Royce executives showed off a new factory built to produce the complex lift fan system that is key to the F-35B STOVL variant. The new plant, near the Indianapolis airport, is a large, antiseptically clean… Keep reading →

The big news today: the Marines F-35B made a vertical landing on the deck of the USS Wasp, a small Marine aircraft carrier. Ship trials will demonstrate how the stealth materials on the plane hold up to harsh conditions at sea, as well as show just how hot and noisy the aircraft is when making… Keep reading →

Arlington, Va: The Navy and Marine Corps have a plan in place to squeeze more flight time from their older F-18 Hornets, and could use funding for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program to pay for it. Lt. Gen. Terry Robling, deputy assistant commandant for Marine Corps aviation, said today that the services plan to… Keep reading →

Washington: Norway is threatening to delay its buy of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters if DoD decides not to support a new missile system built by one of the country’s top defense firms. Norwegian defense giant Kongsberg is pressuring the Pentagon to integrate its Joint Strike Missile for use on the F-35, indicating that Norway is… Keep reading →

Winslow Wheeler, one of the Washington’s most respected defense budget experts, has penned a detailed analysis of how much the Pentagon pays for maintenance and operations to keep its planes in the air. Below, we offer a very condensed version of his report. The Editor. Early in a weapon program’s history, there is virtually always… Keep reading →

National Harbor: The Pentagon is reportedly weighing the benefits and risks of slashing 100 planes from the planned purchase of 2,443 Joint Strike Fighters. Steve Burbage, Lockheed Martin’s executive vice president in charge of the JSF program, said at the Air Force Associaton’s annual conference that he wasn’t aware of any such discussions. Burbage repeated… Keep reading →

Washington: With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan winding down, the U.S. military will need a rapidly mobile, highly lethal force that can respond to any national security crisis around the globe. The Marine Corps is that force and will be for the foreseeable future, according to service Commandant Gen. James Amos. In a letter… Keep reading →