The F-35 program will have to “skinny down” its ambitious program of upgrades beyond the baseline 3F configuration, program executive officer Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan said at ASC15 Tuesday. Neither the US nor the partners can afford the cost of the Block 4 as it now stands, Bogdan said. “We have to afford keeping the F-35 relevant,” he noted, and only the most relevant improvements should be in the initial block. Over the next three years, the upgrade program will get “smaller and leaner” and seek to gain improvements through “efficiencies and concepts of operation.” The system design and development phase cost $50 billion, he added, and the subsequent upgrades shouldn’t rival that cost.
How Miss America 2024 Took the Air Force Somewhere New
Dec. 20, 2024
When 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh became the first ever active service member crowned Miss America on Jan. 14, top Air Force officials recognized a rare opportunity to reach women and girls who otherwise might not consider military service as an option.