By William Hartung March 8, 2016 It’s a time-tested ploy. When a weapons system can’t be justified based on cost, capabilities, and need, the manufacturer touts how many jobs the program will create. So it is with Lockheed Martin and its troubled F-35 combat aircraft. The company’s latest official claim for F-35 jobs is that […]
By Clay Dillow March 10, 2016 The Air Force wants to declare the problem-prone fighter ready for combat later this year. The U.S. Air Force plans to declare its first batch of Lockheed Martin-built F-35 Lightning II fighter jets ready for initial combat duties as early as August of this year. But a scathing new […]
By Sam Friedman April 11, 2016 Alaska’s new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters haven’t been funded yet, but they have a good chance of making it through Congress, according to a military adviser for U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Last week, the Air Force announced it plans to station 54 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters at Eielson Air Force […]
By Stephen Koff March 08, 2016 Northeast Ohioans will glimpse the future of aerial warfare when a military fighter jet, the F-35 Lightning, flies at the Cleveland National Air Show on Labor Day weekend. They might also get a glimpse at scandal, although the Pentagon and the plane’s developer, Lockheed Martin, say the aircraft’s troublesome days […]
By Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs April 12, 2016 Air Force officials announced April 12 that Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona; Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida; Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas; and Whiteman AFB, Missouri, are candidate bases for the first Reserve-led F-35A Lightning II location. The preferred and […]
By Andrea Shalal April 13, 2016 The U.S. Air Force said on Wednesday said it still expected to declare an initial squadron of Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets ready for combat between August and December, despite delays in the jets’ computer-based logistics system. The four-star generals who run Air Combat Command and Air Force […]
By Tony Osborne April 15, 2016 Dutch deployment will test whether use of the F-35 will bother local communities While the first eastbound transatlantic crossing of a Dutch F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) in May will be a major coup for the program as a whole, the visit will be more about building community relations. […]
By Tyler Dumont April 25,2016 The F-35 is called the most ambitious and expensive weapon system in the Department of Defense’s history, costing hundreds of billions. Eighteen of the planes are set to land in Vermont in just three years. At the core of the F-35 is a software system known as ALIS, essentially, the […]
By Travis J. Tritten April 26, 2016 A showdown might soon settle one of the U.S. military’s biggest air power controversies. The high-tech and expensive F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will face off in upcoming testing with the Air Force’s aging close-air-support stalwart, the A-10 Thunderbolt II, the director of the Defense Department operational test and […]
By Ryan Browne April 27, 2016 Sen. John McCain slammed the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s troubled history Tuesday, saying it “has been both a scandal and a tragedy with respect to cost, schedule and performance.” The development of the Joint Strike Fighter, a fifth-generation stealth jet, has been beset by spiraling costs and schedule delays. […]