16 Months Late, F-35 Starts Key Tests: IOT&E
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WASHINGTON The F-35 program office announced today the aircraft had finally reached its initial operational test & evaluation phase, which is expected to wrap up next September. That’s three months behind previous projections for mid-summer — the result of the program’s first crash (fortunately non-fatal) and a subsequent grounding — and 16 months behind the… Keep reading →
F-35 Testing May Slow Two Months Due To Fuel Tube Crash
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More than 80 percent of operational F-35s have returned to flight operations but the fuel tube problems may delay testing another two months.
KC-46 Faces 3 Category One Deficiencies; Two Affect Boom
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AFA: The four-star chief of Air Mobility Command wants his new KC-46 Pegasus tankers “yesterday,” but the tanker’s boom has a nasty tendency to scrape up planes it’s trying to refuel, as well as two other category one deficiencies, and contractor Boeing has to fix those. The paint scraping problem — formally known as “undetected… Keep reading →
F-35 ‘Not Out Of Control’: F-35A Prices Drop 5.5%
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ARLINGTON: One week after President-Elect Donald Trump tweeted that the cost of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter was “out of control,” the F-35 program office announced the price of most variants had dropped yet again. The contract for Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) Lot 9 will buy 57 aircraft, 34 for the US and 23… Keep reading →
Navy’s ‘Klingon Bird Of Prey’ Passes Key Tests: LCS Trimaran
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[UPDATED with shock trials] The strangest-looking ship in the Navy is conducting two crucial tests. A broad, triple-hulled “trimaran” design likened to a villain’s vessel from Star Trek, the Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship completed its Initial Operational Test & Evaluation on June 3rd. What’s more, the Navy Sea Systems Command announced yesterday, the USS Coronado (LCS 4) wrapped… Keep reading →