If the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is going to make low-rate initial production on time, says Lockheed Martin’s Dan Crowley, Congress must approve long-lead LRIP funding for 2006. Discussing the JSF program at the AFA conference Tuesday, Crowley said the Air Force version—the conventional take-off and landing F-35A—is slated to fly late next year. So far, the program is on schedule, making its initial “power on” milestone within the last two weeks.
Air Force Global Strike Command has fielded a new prototype system for beyond-line-of-sight communications on the B-52H Stratofortress in a step forward for modernizing the Cold War-era heavy bomber.