WORLD: Weapons: Sentinel 37% Over Cost; USAF orders 1,500 SDBs; WC-135 Nuke Sniffer Upgrade.
F/A-18E/F
After protracted political uncertainty, Canada, an original partner in the F-35 developmental program, has formally agreed to buy 88 of the fighters in a deal worth $15 billion U.S. The first aircraft will be delivered in 2026, with full operational capability between 2032 and 2034.
The Air Force grounded its F-35A fighters to check for potentially faulty parts in the type’s Martin-Baker ejection seats. The move followed by a day the service's grounding of nearly half its T-38 supersonic trainers and about a sixth of its T-6A primary trainers for ...
Chronically high operating costs might be tamed with a new deal. A new sustainment contract between the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) and Lockheed Martin, inked in September, will give the company a chance to bring down operating costs over the next three years.
The fastest ways to hobble a major acquisition program are to put it through the funding instability of continuing resolutions or to apply constant major changes to the requirements once the program is well underway, panelists said on an AFA Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies ...

