Chauncey McIntosh joins Air & Space Forces Magazine from Lockheed Martin’s F-35 facility in Fort Worth, Texas, to discuss Lockheed’s near- and long-term visions for the F-35 program, expectations for Tech Refresh 3 (TR-3), the effectiveness and value of a...
Two newly manufactured F-35s touched down at the home of the 301st Fighter Wing in Texas last week, as the wing is transitioning from its F-16 fleet to the fifth-generation aircraft. But the jets are not there to stay; the F-35s that arrived at Naval ...
Four years after being deactivated, the 'Boneheads' of the 95th Fighter Squadron will return as an F-35 unit this June at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., which is still under construction.
The Lockheed Martin-controlled portion of the F-35 cost per flying hour, across all users, has fallen 50 percent in the past seven years and should go down another 35 percent in the next five years, assuming a performance-based logistics contract is forthcoming, program officials said. ...
Negotiations over the next three-year lot of F-35s have gone on six months longer than expected because the government and Lockheed Martin are having a hard time agreeing on common numbers for inflation and because of COVID-related supply chain costs, company officials said. However, with foreign orders, ...
BAE Systems will upgrade the F-35’s electronic warfare system for the jet’s Block 4 upgrade under a $493 million contract awarded by Lockheed Martin, BAE systems said Dec. 15. The new system will go into F-35 production starting with Lot 17 in 2024.
The U.K.'s. RAF Lakenheath on Dec. 15 became the first European base to receive a U.S. F-35A Lightning II six years after plans for the delivery were announced as part of an eventual basing of two squadrons of the fifth-generation aircraft. “The Valkyries are leading ...
The F-35's program director promised Congress an F-35 sustainment strategy this summer, but said it's unlikely he'll achieve the elusive goal of $25,000 cost per flying hour by 2025. Negotiating three one-year sustainment deals is a "carrot" to get a better deal from Lockheed Martin ...
The Air Force’s tanker presence in the Arctic will grow, with four more KC-135s heading to a new Active component at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. The KC-135s and up to 220 Active duty Airmen will head to the 168th Wing at Eielson, with aircraft ...
The commander of 19th Air Force will be hitting the road in the coming months, explaining to nearly every USAF flying unit how pilot training is changing, and why they should accept it, Maj. Gen. Craig D. Wills told reporters March 23. The new systems ...
The House Armed Services Committee has “enormous concern” about the F-35 fighter’s sustainment, and suggested Congress may cut back on purchases of the jet to let the sustainment enterprise catch up, Readiness subcommittee chair Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) said March 19. He also said he ...
Full-rate production of the F-35 and delivery of the Block 4 upgrade will keep slipping until the simulator is fixed and the Pentagon sets some realistic timetables for software development, the Government Accountability Office reported on March 18. It recommended better automatic tools for assessing ...