By Anthony Capaccio March 31, 2016 United Technologies Corp.’s performance building engines for the F-35 fighter has been beset by “recurring manufacturing quality issues,” according to the Defense Department’s annual report on its costliest weapons program. The contractor’s Pratt & Whitney military aircraft unit met the goal for delivering engines last year, but quality deficiencies […]
By Charles P. Pierce March 30, 2016 It’s been a while since we checked in with the F-35 Flying Swiss Army Knife, the airplane that ate the federal budget. Let’s see if they’ve gotten all the bugs out of the system yet. Nope. “While Pratt & Whitney has implemented a number of design changes that […]
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 Jonathan Green Mar. 6, 2016 Is the Joint Strike Fighter the right plane for Australia? The JSF is not terribly fast and it’s not terribly agile, and the high tech helmet could take the pilots head off if there is a mishap. Sarah Dingle investigates the over budget and over due Joint Strike Fighter […]
By Solomon Feb. 25, 2016 Listen to what the pilots say about the F-35? How about this retired LTCol from the Danish Air Force! via Australian Senate Submission on the F-35 (Link and item 35). “We also simulated Joint Strike Fighter against Russian fighter aircraft where we flew two against two. In the forenoon I […]
By Col Michael W. Pietrucha, USAF May-June 2014 The Air Force intended eventually to replace much of the post-Vietnam fighter fleet with the F-35A. This stealthy aircraft possesses advanced technology and was intended to be no more expensive than the aircraft it was designed to supplant. The Air Force sought to buy 1,763 F-35As—the number required […]
By John Sowell Feb. 26, 2016 The Islamic State unwittingly forced the U.S. Air Force to continue flying one of ISIS’ fiercest enemies: the A-10 Thunderbolt II. The Air Force was all set to retire the jet, known affectionately among its crews as the Warthog. Then it was pressed into service last year against the […]
BY ALLAN BOURDIUS Feb. 5, 2016 Now that votes are finally being cast, most Hot Air content is going to be revolving around the ongoing campaign, but it’s important we don’t lose sight of issue details that could wind up affecting the race, especially in areas where traditional Republican stances could leave one or more […]