Three F-35A Lightning IIs arrived at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, on June 25, doubling the size of the base’s F-35A fleet. Eielson will receive 48 more aircraft by December next year, giving Alaska the highest concentration of combat-coded, fifth-generation fighter aircraft of any state. ...
F-35A
Airmen from Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska recently finished the first bombs for the 354th Fighter Wing’s F-35A strike fighters. Eielson, which received its first two F-35s on April 21, is the first Pacific Air Forces base to host F-35s. The fighter delivery and ...
A year after the House Armed Services Committee passed its fiscal 2020 defense policy bill in an unusually partisan fashion, the panel appears to be taking a step back from major fireworks and aerospace programmatic shifts in its 2021 legislation. The full committee’s version of ...
The Senate Armed Services Committee’s defense spending plan for 2021 would give the Air Force and Space Force largely what they want, with some notable tweaks. “What this bipartisan bill does is straightforward: care for our troops; preserve peace through strength; and defend this great ...
A problem with an inert gas system meant to protect F-35 fighters if they're struck by lightning has led to a safety order to avoid thunderstorms. Lockheed Martin advised the Air Force to route F-35s around potential lightning conditions until the issue is resolved, the ...
The Wild Weasels at Misawa Air Base, Japan, showed off their advanced armament in the base’s first joint, bilateral elephant walk on June 22. Twelve F-16CMs from the base lined up with 12 Japanese F-35As, two U.S. Navy E/A-18G Growlers, a Navy C-12, two U.S. ...
Fighter jets won support among senators in new defense policy legislation that also raised questions about some of the Air Force’s top priorities. The Senate Armed Services Committee approved a $740.5 billion version of the fiscal 2021 defense policy bill 25-2 on June 10. Its ...
An F-35A fighter jet’s landing gear collapsed at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, on June 8 when the aircraft was returning from a routine training flight, according to a base spokesperson. The accident occurred at 10:45 a.m. local time. The pilot, part of the 388th ...
The Navy on June 1 awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin to upgrade the F-35's Suppression and Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD/DEAD) capabilities. The contract provides $26.7 million to engineer changes to the F-35 for the "full up" mission, presumably to add weapons and/or ...
F-35s and Airmen from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, deployed to the Middle East recently for the third time in 12 months. The aircraft and Airmen from the 421st Fighter Squadron touched down at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, on May 30, according ...
An F-35A from the 58th Fighter Squadron crash-landed late May 19 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., according to the 33rd Fighter Wing. The pilot safely ejected. The crash marks Eglin's second recent fifth-generation jet mishap, following the May 15 crash of an F-22 assigned ...
Parts delays and the need to keep workers appropriately separate will translate to an 18-24 airplane shortfall in Lockheed Martin's planned 2020 F-35 production, the company said May 19. The figure is a worst-case estimate and could be mitigated by an earlier acceleration of parts ...
