Noting that Congress has reduced funding for the F-35 program, Adm. Michael Mullen, Chief of Naval Operations, told reporters in St. Louis Tuesday at the rollout of the Navy’s EA-18G Growler jamming aircraft, said he has not yet started working on “contingency planning” on how to bridge a gap between F/A-18E/F Super Hornet production and F-35 production. Mullen prefers to wait until the House-Senate conference reports out to start worrying, but he said he hopes the JSF is restored. “The JSF is a critical program,” Mullen said. “We need its stealth, range, and payload.” He acknowledged that being on the verge of low-rate production, the F-35 is at a “critical point … but we will support it.”
Pentagon Task Force, FAA to Test Counter-Drone Laser
March 7, 2026
The Pentagon’s counter-drone task force announced it would conduct a high-energy laser test with the Federal Aviation Administration less than a month after the use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border prompted the FAA to shut down the airspace over El Paso, Texas.