The Air Force has struck out for the second time in its quest to become executive agent for higher flying unmanned aerial vehicles. Megan Scully of CongressDaily reports that Defense Undersecretary Gordon England decided against USAF’s proposal. His decision seemingly overrules the Joint Requirements Oversight Council, which was inclined—this time—to support the Air Force position. England has ordered formation of a joint task force on UAV issues. As expected, there was jubilation among some lawmakers, who sided with the Army in its criticism of the USAF plan.
It'll take up to 18 months for Lockheed Martin to deliver the 100 or so F-35s that went directly from production line to storage, awaiting the completion of Tech Refresh 3 testing. Customers haven't complained about the order in which the backlog is being delivered.