Engineers at Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tennessee have spent six years participating in F-35 Joint Strike Fighter development and testing, states an AEDC news release. The center has logged about 10,000 hours on the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine and wind tunnel model testing. AEDC spent $17 million to upgrade its facilities primarily to accommodate testing for the new F135 engine because “it’s an evolution in the art of aircraft engines—more airflow, more thrust, go-faster type of things,” explained Jeff Albro, AEDC F135 program manager. The center has tested all three variants—conventional takeoff and landing, short takeoff and landing, and carrier version—each with different flight characteristics.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.