Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-Va.) asked Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England an obvious question during the committee’s second hearing on the plan to eliminate the alternate engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Warner wanted to know how the Pentagon could issue a $2.5 billion long-term production contract just last August, then decide a few months later to cancel it. England called the decision the “leading edge” of some hard budget choices for DOD. He claimed that, unlike the “great engine war” of the 1980s, this new arrangement would yield no competition savings and only some production savings in the year 2025. It would, maintained England, lead to procurement delays. He added, “I do not believe that is beneficial for any of the countries involved.”
Air Force Changes Rules for Pregnant Aircrew—Again
April 3, 2025
The Air Force is changing its policy for pregnant aircrew, generally reverting to rules set in 2019 that barred female aviators from flying during the first trimester—or from flying in aircraft with ejection seats at all—due to potential risks to the pilot and her unborn fetus.