Miniature nuclear power units that could either provide emergency electricity for domestic bases or power for units deployed to austere locations are under development, Pentagon acquisition and sustainment chief Ellen Lord told reporters March 4. “We’re looking at small, modular nuclear reactors,” Lord said at ...
Full-rate production may slip a little further as initial operational test and evaluation and the integration of the F-35 into a virtual wargaming environment play out, program executive officer Lt. Gen. Eric Fick said March 4. Granting Lockheed Martin's pitch to get a Performance-Based Logistics ...
The Air Force picked the AGM-183 Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon hypersonic missile over the Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon because it's more advanced and is a better match to the Air Force's needs, and the HCSW just didn't fit in an overcrowded budget, service acquisition chief ...
It’s still not known how many F-35 fighters were assembled with mixed-up Inconel and titanium fasteners, but Lockheed Martin’s analysis shows no safety of flight risk that would require dedicated fleetwide inspections. Company Vice President and Program Manager Greg Ulmer told reporters on Feb. 27 ...
The newest variant of the Air Force’s advanced, stealthy Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile-Extreme Range will start low-rate initial production next year, with deliveries beginning in 2024, according to the service’s budget request. The Air Force’s fiscal 2021 request includes $506 million total for ...
The Air Force says it will not divest its fleet of U-2 Dragon Lady planes in fiscal 2025, despite language to the contrary in the service’s 2021 budget request. Air Force Magazine first reported that the budget submission, unveiled Feb. 10, planned to start retiring ...
The Space Force is requesting $15.4 billion for its first full year of operations in fiscal 2021, ballooning from its $40 million allotment from Congress in 2020. The fledgling service was created under the Department of the Air Force in December by the Fiscal 2020 ...
The Space Force has received its first GPS III satellite, with a launch slated for April. The Lockheed Martin-built next-generation satellite, which was shipped to Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a C-17 from Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado, is the third GPS III to be delivered. ...
The F-35 fleet is safe to fly, despite an under-strength fastener problem potentially affecting nearly all F-35s, Pentagon acquisition and sustainment chief Ellen Lord said during a Jan. 31 press conference. A root cause analysis continues, but the Pentagon has "confidence in the integrity" of ...
Poland's defense ministry on Jan. 31 finalized its $4.6 billion buy of 32 F-35As and 33 F135 engines, a move Polish President Andrzej Duda said will be a significant step toward strengthening the security of the country and the region. The deal, which was approved ...
Fasteners may have been installed incorrectly on all but a handful of F-35s ever built, but Lockheed Martin believes it's probably not worth it to go back and change out the wrong parts for the right ones. The fastener issue, first revealed by Pentagon acquisition ...
Air Force Reserve Command is mulling where to place four newly funded C-130Js, prioritizing two wings with specialized missions. The fiscal 2020 defense spending bill provided an additional $730 million for 8 C-130J aircraft, including four for the Air Force Reserve and four for the ...