The first Japanese F-35A took its maiden flight on Aug. 24 in Texas. The aircraft, called AX-1, took off from the Lockheed Martin assembly plant in Fort Worth and flew for about an hour and a half, Lockheed announced. The Japan Air Self Defense Force will purchase 42 F-35As; the first four are in production and are expected to be delivered by the end of the year. The rest will be assembled at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries final assembly facility in Nagoya, Japan, according to Lockheed. Japanese pilots will start training in November at Luke AFB, Ariz.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth vowed to undertake far-reaching reforms on the way the U.S. military buys weapons, promising a sweeping overhaul of the way the Defense Department determines requirements, handles the acquisition process, and tests its kit. The fundamental goal, which Hegseth underscored in a 1-hour and 10-minute speech…
