The F-35A made its first transatlantic flight last week. An Italian-built F-35A flew from Cameri AB, Italy, to NAS Patuxent River, Md., landing on Feb. 5. The jet, AL-1, was the first international jet fully built in Italy and was flown by an Italian Air Force F-35 pilot who completed training at Luke AFB, Ariz., in November, according to a release from the F-35 program office. The jet will become the first of five Italian F-35s to join the training fleet at Luke. The trip totaled 11 flight hours, including seven refuels from an Italian Air Force KC-767 tanker. “The efficiency and reliability of the aircraft has been 100 percent—we had no issues at all,” the Italian F-35 pilot, Maj. Gian Marco D., said in the release. “This demonstrates the capability of the aircraft itself, of the program.”
Pentagon Cancels $6B GPS Ground System Contract
April 20, 2026
The Pentagon has canceled its contract with RTX to field a ground segment to manage its most capable GPS satellites, a more than 15-year effort beleaguered by software development issues and cost overages.