By: Dan Grazier & Mandy Smithberger March 7, 2016 The Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) recently released a scathing assessment of the F-35 program as part of his annual report. Buried inside 48 pages of highly technical language is a gripping story of mismanagement, delayed tests, serious safety issues, a software nightmare, and […]
March 21, 2016 Top Air Force acquisitions personnel who went to Capitol Hill on March 8 seemed to find friendly support from Congress for restoring cut F-35 buys to the fiscal year 2017 budget. The service had delayed purchasing five F-35 Lightning IIs that were set for 2017 – a move the service said would […]
By Richard Chirgwin March 8, 2016 The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has run into yet another software bug, according to a report in IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly. The glitch is in the software that operates the fighter’s radar. During flight, Jane’s reckons, the radar software becomes unstable. The report quotes US Air Force Major General Jeffrey […]
By Jim W. Dean Feb. 5, 2016 [ Jim Dean’s Note: Yes, I know this is an old story, but with an important new twist, in that the continued deficiencies of the F-35 are detailed by the Pentagon’s own testing expert. This is no anti-war, America haters bashing the program. For the program to be […]
By Dan Grazier & Mandy Smithberger March 7, 2016 The Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) recently released a scathing assessment of the F-35 program as part of his annual report. Buried inside 48 pages of highly technical language is a gripping story of mismanagement, delayed tests, serious safety issues, a software nightmare, and […]
By Andrew W. Clevenger March 8, 2016 A majority of Americans favor cutting the US defense budget in five out of seven key areas, including nuclear weapons and missile defense, according to a new University of Maryland survey released March 9. Nationally, a majority supports modest budget cuts to air power ($2 billion), ground forces ($4 billion), […]
By Emily Bregel March 10, 2016 As Davis-Monthan Air Force Base faces dual threats of cuts to its primary mission – its fleet of A-10 close-air support jets – and the specter of base closures nationally, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said its’future is bright.’ ‘I couldn’t be more impressed with what I have seen so […]
By Defense Industry Daily staff March 8,2016 Canada’s participation in the F-35 program continues to be shrouded in confusion. The government plans to pay an installment external link of $32.9 million in May to continue its involvement in procuring the Joint Strike Fighter. This runs contrary to promises made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to […]
By Thom Patterson March 17, 2016 Adele, Beyonce and Springsteen are planning tours this summer. Now you can add another pricey attention-grabber to the list: The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. America’s newest and most technologically sophisticated fighter jet kicks off a tour of airshows in the West, Midwest, South and Northeastern United States in […]
By Phillip Swarts March 21, 2016 The service is ignoring the facts about the effectiveness of the A-10 “Warthog,” says Sen. John McCain, who lit into Air Force leadership on March 3. The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee launched a fiery exchange with the Air Force’s top officer in the latest round of conflict […]