Washington: Two of Washington’s better known taxpayer groups today offered a salad of Pentagon cuts, including recommendations to kill the entire F-35 program. The National Taxpayers Union (NTU) and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) — who occupy very different parts of the political spectrum — issued the recommendations to the congressional Super Committee… Keep reading →

Washington: The defense industry has clearly decided looming budget cuts pose such a grave threat to its future that it must abandon its usual quiet, behind-the-scenes efforts to influence the American public and go national, using social media as well as its usual combination of education and money. Today, the Aerospace Industries Association unveiled its… Keep reading →

Washington: The way the Defense Department does business is broken, and lawmakers want to know if DoD acquisition chief Ash Carter can fix it. That was the message Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin and Ranking Member John McCain conveyed to Carter during his confirmation hearing yesterday. Carter has been pegged to replace Bill Lynn… Keep reading →

UPDATED Washington: DoD is ready to give the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s second engine program another look, but only if industry is ready to foot the bill. DoD acquisition chief Ash Carter said today he is willing to sit down with the General Electric and Rolls-Royce team building the F136 alternate engine. Testifying at his… Keep reading →

Capitol Hill: The Senate’s top defense appropriators have killed the Army and Marines Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program and frozen F-35 production levels until the next budget year. Those were among the most visible of $26 billion in additional cuts to the fiscal 2012 budget the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee made to comply with the… Keep reading →

UPDATED Washington: A new problem — described in a Pentagon email as “not a serious issue” — has been found with the wings of the Air Force and Marine versions of the F-35. The problem is with the wing’s forward root rib and was discovered in standard durability tests. The ribs — which provide the… Keep reading →

Washington: Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, where the F-35 is assembled, wrote presumptive Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter today, expressing “disappointment” with Carter’s “apparent lack of commitment to the success” of the largest “defense acquisition program in our nation’s history.” Cornyn is clearly part of a greatly stepped up lobbying effort by Lockheed Martin to… Keep reading →

Patuxent River NAS: With all the cost overruns, schedule delays and political wrangling over the F-35 program, Boeing has been trying to pitch the F-18 Super Hornet to countries that be growing weary of all this turmoil. For more news and information on the swiftly-changing defense industry, please sign up for the Breaking Defense newsletter.… Keep reading →

A screwed-up control valve caused the grounding of the F-35 fleet and the program office has cleared the plane for ground operations while it tests the errant valve. Meanwhile, the F-22 fleet remains grounded until early fall when the results of an investigation into possible problems with the plane’s oxygen system are completed. For more… Keep reading →

Washington: Things are only going to get worse for the Defense Department and industry, as the White House increasingly looks to military spending as a way to cut the nation’s debt. For more news and information on the swiftly-changing defense industry, please sign up for the Breaking Defense newsletter. You can also catch us on… Keep reading →