WASHINGTON: As the Navy continues to look for ways to reach out and touch — or preferably deter — potential adversaries at greater range, it is turning to the latest version of a decades-old weapon to do it.

As the Pentagon starts pumping cash into shipyards and small weapons manufacturers, is it enough to save some ailing production lines?

WASHINGTON: The UK is ready to start deploying the first batch of its new F-35 fighter overseas, the country’s top defense official said Thursday, while introducing a slew of new cruise and attack missiles for its Typhoon jets.   The announcement of Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for nine F-35Bs comes weeks after the Royal Navy… Keep reading →

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 →

Two years have passed since Le Bourget hosted the last Euronaval show, two years during which the maritime world has become increasingly multipolar. For example, just in the submarine business, more than 40 countries are nowadays involved. In the meantime, Russia added 28 new ships to its fleet in 2018 alone, while China, with a… Keep reading →

A British defense official talked up the good news about British defense spending in DC this week — including on many US-built weapons — but some dark clouds hang over the ambitious plan.

UPDATED: Adds Rep. Turner Pledge To Hold HASC Hearings WASHINGTON: It may not last long, but the entire F-35 fleet — all versions from all countries — was just grounded “while the enterprise conducts a fleet-wide inspection of a fuel tube within the engine on all F-35 aircraft.” The British — clearly hungry to keep… Keep reading →

“We’re not going to pretend it’s easy,” Rear Adm. Keith Blount, assistant chief of the Naval Staff told reporters. “But this isn’t unfathomably difficult for us. We are enjoying going back into the big time, and this is one of those big steps on that ladder. It’s hugely exciting and should be reassuring to those back home and to those on this side of the Atlantic.”

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.

NAVAL STATION NORFOLK: The largest ship in British naval history, the carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, can move four F-35Bs on her two huge elevators up to her decks in just a few minutes, allowing the ship to put its most potent strike assets into the air in minutes. The entire ship is laced with fiber-optic… Keep reading →