A Lockheed Martin F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing test aircraft last week achieved an impressive milestone, according to Warren Boley, Pratt & Whitney military engines president. “For the first time,” Boley said in an interview, “a pilot pushed a button and the [air]plane landed autonomously.” Boley joked that the pilot could fold his hands behind his head or “read the paper” while the airplane safely settled down to a vertical landing from hover. The flight was the 74th vertical landing of the F-35 test program, and the fact that the Marine Corps was willing to allow the test indicated high confidence in the airplane and its Pratt-supplied F135 engine, Boley told the Daily Report April 8.
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
