March 3, 2018 “Right now, we can’t afford the sustainment costs we have on the F-35,” Ellen Lord, the new Defense Department undersecretary for defense acquisition and sustainment, told reporters this week. “And we are committed to changing that.” The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is the most expensive weapons program in US history and remains […]
By Valerie Insinna March 9, 2018 Under the F-35 joint program office’s latest plan, follow-on modernization for the Joint Strike Fighter could add up to a total of $16 billion, the Defense Department’s program head confirmed Wednesday. Responding to questions from lawmakers about the price of implementing the new Continuous Capability Development and Delivery strategy, or C2D2, Vice […]
By David Brennan March 9, 2018 The F-35 stealth jet will need an additional $16 billion worth of upgrades and development, the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee has been told. The F-35, made by Lockheed Martin, is already the most expensive weapons program of all time. It has now been revealed that the F-35 […]
By Dan Grazier March 8, 2018 The F-35 still has a long way to go before it will be ready for combat. That was the parting message of Dr. Michael Gilmore, the now-retired Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, in his last annual report. The Joint Strike Fighter Program has already consumed more than $100 […]
June 22, 2016 South Burlington City Council Special Meeting Public Hearing on F-35 Lawsuit. [FULL ARTICLE]
By Alex Hollings March 8, 2018 Just under half of the $100 million a piece F-35 Joint Strike Fighters delivered by Lockheed Martin thus far are non-operational, according to statements made by Vice Adm. Mat Winter, head of the Defense Department’s F-35 Joint Program Office. The F-35 program, which has received significant political support thanks […]
By Hope Hodge Seck March 2, 2018 News that two-thirds of the Navy’s aging F/A-18 Hornets were stuck on the flightline lit up headlines last year. But the defense department’s brand-new 5th-generation fighter program is also struggling to ensure that its shiny new aircraft are flyable, the three-star director of the program this week. Of […]
By Anthony Capaccio January 23, 2018 Efforts to improve the reliability of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 are “stagnant,” undercut by problems such as aircraft sitting idle over the last year awaiting spare parts from the contractor, according to the Pentagon’s testing office. The availability of the fighter jet for missions when needed — a key […]
By BLOOMBERG January 24, 2018 Efforts to improve the reliability of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 are “stagnant,” undercut by problems such as aircraft sitting idle over the last year awaiting spare parts from the contractor, according to the Pentagon’s testing office. The availability of the fighter jet for missions when needed — a key metric — remains […]
By Chris Pocock February 2, 2018 The annual report from the Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) again contains serious criticism of the F-35 program. Unresolved problems in the development, plus availability and reliability issues, are all of concern. “The operational suitability of the F-35 fleet remains at a level below service expectations […]