Trying to get a handle on the problems that led to the F-35 program restructure, Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) asked Feb. 24 at the House Appropriations defense panel hearing on combat aircraft, “Give us a little flavor of what the reason is for this 13-month delay.” In the words of Rear Adm. David Philman, that “flavor” is predominantly the overreliance on modeling instead of actual flight testing. (Hmmm, fly before you buy?) In Scott’s words: “What we’re seeing in the actual flight hasn’t necessarily validated the model. So now we’re continuing to press back and have to go back to more traditional testing for some time until we can get the aircraft mature enough to be more in line with a validated model.”
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
