Retired Air Force Col. James P. Cooney, 80, died May 3 in Niceville, Fla. During his 27 year career, Cooney flew as part of the YF-12 record-setting test flight that earned the 1965 Mackay Trophy for Cooney and four other Air Force officers. Cooney also flew 186 combat missions in the F-4 during the Vietnam War as a member of the then-555th Tactical Fighter Squadron. He received a Silver Star for shooting down a MiG-19 and went on to receive a total of six Distinguished Flying Crosses and 20 air medals. He retired from the Air Force in 1977.
As Lockheed Martin prepares to release the first F-35 Block 4 software updates this summer, the company and the Joint Program Office are already well into analyses that will decide what will comprise Block 5 and later upgrades, Lockheed’s F-35 program manager said. For now though, some of the new…