The Defense Department is withholding $46.5 million in reimbursements from Lockheed Martin until the company fixes deficiencies in its earned value management system that the company uses to track costs and schedules for the F-35 strike fighter, reported Bloomberg. That amount totals five percent of two F-35 production contracts and a smaller development agreement for Israel, according to the Oct. 26 report. Lockheed Martin President Chris Kubasik told reporters during a teleconference on Oct. 24 that the company had made progress in resolving the issue. “We have a corrective action plan that has been approved, and we are executing to that,” he said. “We are having status checks monthly, and by all accounts everybody is satisfied with the progress that we are making,” he added.
Bell Textron has won DARPA's contest for a no-runway, high-speed drone that will prove out technologies useful for special operations forces and possibly the Air Force's Agile Combat Employment concept. Bell's design converts a tiltrotor to a jet-powered aircraft able to fly at up to 450 knots.