The Joint Strike Fighter program may celebrate a very public milestone—being given its official name—this Friday when Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley plan to formally unveil the first production F-35 at a ceremony at prime contractor Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Tex., facility, reports the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The paper confirms earlier speculation, saying that “heavy betting” among aerospace industry officials leans toward Lightning—or rather Lightning II.
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.