Vago’s Notebook: F-35 Progress
The challenges tend to obscure progress for major programs like the joint strike fighter, but the JSF has been on a winning streak. [FULL VIDEO]
2. Cost To Our Country
Canada’s Liberals Against F-35 Purchase
By Agence France-Presse September 20, 2015 OTTAWA, Canada— Canada’s Liberal leader Justin Trudeau said on the campaign trail Sunday that he would scrap the purchase of F-35s — the apparent frontrunner to replace the nation’s aging fleet of fighter jets. “We will not buy the F-35 fighter jet,” he told a rally in Halifax ahead […]
Increase Air Force budget or face consequences: Column
By Deborah Lee James September 25, 2015 At a time when our nation is slashing defense budgets, we face a security environment that is extraordinarily complex and volatile, and our Air Force is busier than ever. Over the last year, 25,000 Airmen deployed in support of contingencies around the world. They flew almost 20,000 close air […]
Military Operations Damage Communities and Environment
By Steven Aftergood Aug.11, 2015 The environmental impacts of military operations are increasingly becoming factors in the planning and execution of military activities. “The military has a new appreciation for the interdependence between military missions, the global community, and the environment,” according to a newly revised and reissued Army doctrinal manual. See Environmental Considerations, ATP […]
After sprawl threatened relocation, plan to keep Oceana deemed a success
By John Holland August 19, 2015 Predictions of doom bounced around City Hall in the summer of 2005 and landed on the front page in bold, desperate headlines. People were scared, and for good reason. Oceana Naval Air Station and its 12,000 jobs were on the Defense Department’s critical list, threatened with closure in large […]
Lockheed Received $431 million to support F-35 Production Ramp Up
By: JAMES DREW Aug 5, 2015 Lockheed Martin has received $431 million for special tooling and test equipment to support the ramp up of F-35 production over the coming years. The hefty sum was awarded as a modification to the current Lot 8 production contract, and comes as Lockheed and the Pentagon negotiate the purchase […]
More F-35 Training Systems Ordered from Cubic Global Defense
By Richard Tomkins Aug. 20, 2015 SAN DIEGO, Aug. 20 (UPI) — Cubic Global Defense is to produce and enhance the Air Combat Training System in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the company has announced. Included in the work contracted by Lockheed Martin Aerospace is the addition of an internally mounted sub-system of the P5 […]
Pentagon denies F-35 numbers
By Aaron Mehta August 25, 2015 WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is not conducting a formal review of F-35 planned procurement numbers, a spokesman said Tuesday, despite comments by the incoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that indicate otherwise. In written testimony for his nomination hearing last month, Gen. Joe Dunford seemed to signal […]
The most expensive weapon in history must get more affordable – The Boston Globe
By The Editorial Board July 30, 2015 THINKING BIG doesn’t always pay, especially when it comes to military procurement. Complex, aspirational weapons systems are irresistible to military brass, because they keep budget dollars flowing for years on end. Members of Congress like them too, especially when they can locate a manufacturing facility inside their district. […]
Secretary of the Air Force acknowledges wide range of problems with the F-35
By Richard Sisk Jul 28, 2015 Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James has admitted to a wide range of past and present problems with the F-35 while maintaining that the fifth-general will eventually guarantee the U.S. continued air supremacy over rivals. “The biggest lesson I have learned from the F-35 is never again should we […]