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.
The artificial intelligence that controlled the F-16 on which Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall flew last week was evenly matched in dogfights against a human pilot with more than 2,000 flight hours, Kendall said May 8, as he made the case that autonomy will become essential to air and spacepower.