The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program Office (JPO) acknowledged in 2016 that schedule pressure exists for completing System Development and Demonstration (SDD) and starting Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) by August 2017, the planned date in JPO’s Integrated Master Schedule. In an effort to stay on schedule, JPO plans to reduce or truncate planned […]
By Richard Chirgwin April 3, 2017 Now-retired Dr Michael Gilmore, until recently the Director of Test and Evaluation for the US military, has published his final evaluation of the F-35 program, and it’s a treat. In his parting report (PDF), deliciously dated April 1*, Gilmore details a host of issues remaining with the US$391 billion-and-counting […]
By Michael Hughes June 14, 2017 The F-35 was billed as a fighter jet that could do almost everything the U.S. military desired, serving the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy — and even Britain’s Royal Air Force and Royal Navy — all in one aircraft design. It’s supposed to replace and improve upon several current — and aging — aircraft types with widely […]
By Ellen Mitchell June 9, 2017 The Air Force has “temporarily” grounded a squadron of F-35s fighter jets at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona after five pilots reported symptoms consistent with oxygen deprivation, the service said Friday. The 56th Fighter Wing cancelled local flying operations for its F-35A Lightning II fighters after five incidents since May […]
By Alex Lockie April 24, 2017 The Government Accountability Office released a report on Mondaywarning the Department of Defense against funding further software updates for the already $400 billion F-35 program until the current software becomes operational. The F-35 is already operational with the Air Force and Marine Corps, but it runs a limited version […]
By Rebecca Kheel April 24, 2017 Delayed testing could add more than $1 billion to the cost of the F-35 fighter jet program, according to a government watchdog. In a report released Monday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended completing developmental testing before making “significant new investments” in the program. “Cascading F-35 testing delays could […]
By Kyle Jahner Law360, Washington (April 25, 2017, 4:05 PM EDT) — Testing delays for the software for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will tack on at least another five months and $1.7 billion to the price tag of a program no stranger to overruns and delays, a government report released Monday said, as the […]
The Arizona Star reported that the F-35 fighter projects 121 decibels (db) of noise to the ground, 25 decibels more than the F-16, at the same speed and altitude. Later, the Star corrected the estimate of the F-35 noise to 98 db, based on numbers provided by Davis-Monthan. But D-M’s numbers are contradicted by 6 […]
April 14, 2017 In a subtle maneuver that would have any fighter pilot pulling extra G’s, a group organized to fight the noisy F-35 jet has co-opted Mayor Dave Bieter’s favorite line about making Boise the “Most livable city in America.” “CITIZENS FOR A LIVABLE BOISE” now has a central “meeting place” on-line. They even […]
By Adam Silverman Feb. 5, 2017 A review ordered by the Trump administration of the F-35 fighter jet program is expected to have no effect on the Vermont National Guard, which remains on track to receive 18 of the aircraft in two years. Vermont’s congressional delegation and governor agreed cost-cutting measures could prove beneficial for […]