Apr 26, 2016 Development of New Capabilities Requires Continued Oversight What GAO Found Although the estimated F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (F-35) program acquisition costs have decreased since 2014, the program continues to face significant affordability challenges. The Department of Defense (DOD) plans to begin increasing production and expects to spend more than $14 billion annually […]
By Clay Dillow April 28, 2016 Software glitches continue to dog the nation’s newest fighter jet. Five of six Air Force F-35 fighter jets were unable to take off during a recent exercise due to software bugs that continue to hamstring the world’s most sophisticated—and most expensive—warplane. During a mock deployment at Mountain Home Air […]
By David Axe March 17, 2016 Officials are finally admitting the F-35 fighter has turned into a nightmare—but it’s too late to stop the $400 billion program now. Way back in the early 2000s, the U.S. military had a dream. To develop a new “universal” jet fighter that could do, well, pretty much everything that […]
March 23, 2016 U.S. military officials reportedly are considering alternatives that include restarting the F-22 advanced tactical fighter line or developing advanced versions of the F-15 or F/A-18 combat aircraft if the F-35 joint strike fighter program fails. The National Interest reports. [FULL ARTICLE]
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 […]
March 23, 2016 The Air Force has been given an extra month, until late April, to respond to a federal lawsuit alleging that the service failed to adequately study the environmental effects of expanding a military training program at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Three Tucson residents filed the lawsuit Jan. 22, challenging the Air Force’s […]
By Elizabeth Murray March 28, 2016 The Winooski City Council unanimously approved spending $5,000 more on a lawsuit the city entered last year regarding the U.S. Air Force’s environmental impact statement regarding F-35 fighter jets. The additional money was an agenda item at Monday’s council meeting at Winooski City Hall. The City Council initially approved spending $7,500 on the lawsuit when […]
By James Marc Leas March 31, 2016 Supporting our Vermont Air National Guard is one thing. Supporting particular items of equipment is another. Supporting our Green Mountain Boys does not require supporting the Air Force decision to base F-35 warplanes at the airport in South Burlington. If our Guardsmen were lousy at their jobs, poor […]
By Roger Bourassa March 31, 2016 Editor’s note: This commentary is by Roger Bourassa, of Colchester, who served in the Marines and is a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel. He flew in the F-89, the C-97, and the F-101 and flew all over the world including several missions to Vietnam. A recent letter to a South Burlington […]