The Navy version of the Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35C, has completed its air system critical design review, paving the way for the carrier-variant to enter low rate initial production. In a Lockheed Martin release, Air Force Brig. Gen. C.R. Davis, JSF program executive officer, says, “Completion of this design review is a very significant milestone; the die is now fully cast for the unique, three-variant Joint Strike Fighter program envisioned when the planning began in the late 1990s.” The F-35C has larger wings and a more robust internal structure than the other two variants—the Air Force’s F-35A conventional takeoff and landing aircraft and the Marine Corps’ F-35B, short takeoff and vertical landing version—to handle repeated catapult launches and arrested recoveries on a carrier deck. Lockheed has begun fabrication of the first production JSFs, two F-35A models.
The U.S. military is sending more fighter jets to the Middle East to step up its war with Iran, adding to what is already the largest buildup of airpower in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. For now, the operation shows little sign of coming to a quick…