DefenceTalkIn a first-of-its-kind engagement, a Raytheon Company Standard Missile-6 linked with an F-35 fighter destroyed a medium-range, medium-altitude, subsonic target. The USS Desert Ship (LLS 1), a land-based U.S. Navy Combat System equipped with the latest AEGIS Baseline, fired the SM-6, which intercepted the over-the-horizon target, out of sight of its operators. The mission was […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-navy-links-sm-6-missile-with-f-35-joint-strike-fighter-68169/

DefenceTalkThe Pentagon will buy another 43 F-35 fighter jets worth roughly $4 billion from aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, officials said Tuesday, four months after it was briefly grounded following an engine fire. Although final details have to be worked out, the “handshake agreement” will mean the price of each plane will drop slightly within America’s […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-agrees-deal-to-buy-43-more-f-35-fighters-pentagon-60894/

DefenceTalkAn engine fire last month on a US F-35 fighter jet was likely an isolated incident and not part of a wider problem for the new aircraft, a top Pentagon official said Thursday. The comments came as Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel offered a ringing endorsement of the costly Joint Strike Fighter despite the latest technical […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35-jet-fire-may-be-isolated-problem-60101/

DefenceTalkA Department of Defense spokesman has announced the temporary grounding of the F-35 fleet based upon a recent runway incident. Navy Rear Admiral John Kirby, Pentagon press secretary, stated that the technical air worthiness authorities of the Department of the Air Force and Department of the Navy have issued a directive to ground the F-35 […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35-fleet-temporarily-grounded-60073/

DefenceTalkThe Government has approved the acquisition of an additional 58 F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. The fifth generation F-35 is the most advanced fighter in production anywhere in the world and will make a vital contribution to our national security. Together with the Super Hornet and Growler electronic warfare aircraft, the F-35 aircraft […]https://www.defencetalk.com/australia-to-order-58-more-f-35-lightning-ii-joint-strike-fighter-aircraft-59381/

DefenceTalkThe F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) today informed Lockheed Martin that it decided to halt development of the alternate F-35 helmet and focus exclusively on maturing the Rockwell Collins Elbit Systems of America Vision Systems Generation 2 (Gen 2) helmet currently used in training and testing. The program will recoup approximately $45 million in funds […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35-program-halts-development-of-alternate-helmet-49364/

DefenceTalkShe didn’t have a smudge on her. Not a leak found anywhere. She even had that “new jet smell.” Skies were blue, everything was perfect. Those were the conditions on that July day in 2011 when Lt. Col. Eric Smith took off from the Lockheed facilities at Fort Worth, Texas, in the first operational F-35 […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35-new-fighter-creates-new-culture-for-21st-century-and-beyond-49176/

DefenceTalkThe Netherlands will go ahead with the purchase of the controversial JSF jet fighter, despite objections, the Telegraaf reports on Tuesday. The decision brings to an end 18 years of political dithering about the wisdom of spending so much money on an aircraft when the defence ministry is struggling to find €1.33bn in cuts, the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/dutch-jsf-jet-fighter-purchase-gets-green-light-after-18-years-49079/

DefenceTalkWorking with Lockheed Martin and the UK Ministry of Defence, we have linked simulation facilities across five UK sites to create a common synthetic environment to evaluate F-35 interoperability with other UK military platforms. Linking Air and Maritime A recent trial saw Royal Navy, RAF and US Navy pilots operating the F-35 fighter jet during […]https://www.defencetalk.com/ukus-trials-review-f-35-interoperability-in-a-simulated-maritime-scenario-48193/

DefenceTalkThe F-35 Flight Test Update in the Volume 27, Number 3 issue of Code One concluded with the first aerial release of an AIM-120 AMRAAM on 19 October 2012. This tenth installment in the series of flight test updates on the F-35 program covers numerous other weapon releases as well as other achievements of the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35-flight-test-update-10-47757/