Making Rounds: The F-35 cockpit demonstrator arrived Monday at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, to give Aeronautical Systems Center personnel who are part of the multinational program’s management team a chance to experience the aircraft’s advanced capabilities close-up. “Our people have been working hard to see the F-35 through system development and demonstration,” Lt. Col. Anthony Genatempo, commander of ASC’s 640th Aeronautical Systems Squadron, said in a base release Sept. 9. He continued, “We’re delighted to be able to bring the cockpit demonstrator here so they can get a sense of what it’s like to fly it.” The cockpit demonstrator is a traveling, working mock-up of the stealth fighter’s cockpit, complete with wrap-around high-resolution displays to give pilots a sense of motion.
If the Air Force is in line for a big budget bump from President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget in 2027, the head of Air Combat Command said he would make aircraft spare parts his top spending priority—but cautioned that more money to buy parts won’t equal a…
