Despite delays that have plagued the F-35 strike fighter program, prime contractor Lockheed Martin said it’s tracking ahead of schedule so far this year with the aircraft’s flight testing. Through May 31, there were a total of 378 test flights of all three F-35 variants versus the 297 planned by that date, according to a company release. These flights accomplished 3,342 test points, far more than the 2,217 called for during this period, said Lockheed. Air Force F-35A aircraft flew 183 times during the first five months of the year. USAF test aircraft AF-1 reached Mach 1.53 during one flight, the fastest speed yet for the F-35 fleet. AF-7, an F-35A production aircraft, completed a 4.1-hour test mission, the longest duration sortie for an F-35 thus far.
The Pentagon’s new counter-drone task force will play a direct role in arming Airmen with new weapons to defend Air Force agile combat employment, or ACE, air bases in austere locations against enemy drone attacks, the director of Joint Interagency Task Force 401 said Oct. 14.
