NASA’s experimental X-43A Hyper X hypersonic research vehicle shatters the speed record for an air-breathing vehicle when it flies to nearly 10 times the speed of sound. Flying from Edwards AFB, Calif., NASA’s B-52B mothership transports the X-43A to a launch location off the Pacific coast.
It'll take up to 18 months for Lockheed Martin to deliver the 100 or so F-35s that went directly from production line to storage, awaiting the completion of Tech Refresh 3 testing. Customers haven't complained about the order in which the backlog is being delivered.