According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is only weeks away from getting a name—final recommendations are being “closely guarded” by top Air Force officials. The paper reports that the Air Force did ask for options from the other military services and eight partner nations. The three prime purchasers of the new fighter all follow different naming themes. USAF favors birds of prey for its fighters, while the Navy has Tomcat and Hornet, and Britain’s Royal Air Force has Tornado and Typhoon.
A new Navy missile could fill a long-range air-to-air need for the U.S. Air Force’s fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-generation fighters. The Navy’s portfolio acquisition executive for munitions posted information on the AIM-424 Long Range Air-to-Air Missile online on Aug. 22, the same day it unveiled the project at the service’s…