Farnborough, UK Navy acquisition chief Sean Stackley wants everyone to know the Navy is “fully committed” to the F-35 program. At a Farnborough Air Show press conference Monday, Stackley took umbrage at a reporter’s assertion that the sea service has been a reluctant F-35 partner and has a preference for the F/A-18E/F. The Navy’s plan is to start fielding the F-35 in 2018, he said, and its initial operating capability in that year “has always been tied to the 3F” version of software that will be available at that point. In the meantime, though, Stackley said the Navy has been wrestling with fighter shortages, hence the F/A-18 adds to the budget. But the F-35 will replace older F/A-18 units “one for one” as the new jets become available.
A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber flew from Europe across the Middle East to the Persian Gulf on July 25 in a 32-hour flight, as conflicts continued to roil the area with U.S. troops coming under attack in Iraq and Syria on July 25 and July 26, U.S. officials told…