The U.S. and Turkey are at a political impasse over the pending sale of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to the NATO ally, experts say. Read More
Tag Archives: F-35
EUCOM Wants More Destroyers, Expanded Aircraft Carrier Presence to Deter Russia
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) as the ship transits the Strait of Gibraltar on Dec. 4, 2018. US Navy Photo
The top American officer in Europe wants two more destroyers stationed in his area of responsibility and a “better pace” of carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups moving through the region, he said during a Tuesday hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Read More
Marine Corps, Air Force Service Chiefs Hold First Meeting Since 2011; Plan to Coordinate on F-35, Air Defense Threats
Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert B. Neller, right, walks with Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein, left, before an evening parade at Marine Barracks Washington, Washington, D.C., July 28, 2017. Neller hosted the parade and Goldfein was the guest of honor. US Marine Corps photo.
The Marine Corps and Air Force service chiefs met this week in the first top-level meeting between the services since 2011, in the first step towards developing a closer bond between the services perhaps least likely to work together. Read More
Canada Seeking 88 New Fighters to Replace Aging CF-18s; Will Buy Surplus Australian F-18 Hornets in Interim
Capt. Matthew Kutryk, Royal Canadian Air Force pilot, flies a specially painted CF-18 Hornet commemorating Canada’s 150th Anniversary of Confederation during the Wings Over Wayne Air Show, May 21, 2017, at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. US Air Force Photo
The Canadian government will start a new competition to buy 88 fighters to replace the aging fleet of Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Hornets, Ottawa announced on Tuesday. Read More
Congress Notified of Potential $5.23B Super Hornet Sale to Canada While F-35 Questions Remain
A Canadian CF-18 flies in formation with other aircraft off the coast Hawaii. US Navy Photo
THE PENTAGON — The proposed $5.23 billion sale of 18 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighters to Canada received U.S. Department of State approval, marking a significant step toward U.S. ally’s plan to upgrade its aging fighter jet fleet. Read More
Senate Armed Services Bill Directs Navy to Start a Preliminary Design Effort for a Light Carrier, Pluses Up Shipbuilding Totals Over Trump Budget
Four F-35B Lightning II aircraft perform a flyover above the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) on Nov. 20, 2016. US Navy Photo
The Senate Armed Services Committee version of the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act piles on more ships and aircraft over the Pentagon’s request in a plan that spends more than $20 billion above the Trump administration’s request, according to an executive summary of the legislation that the SASC issued on Wednesday night. Read More
HASC Would Add 5 Ships, $3 Billion in Aircraft Procurement to Navy’s 2018 Plans
The aft mast lands on the future amphibious transport dock Portland (LPD-27) in August 2015. Huntington Ingalls Industries photo.
The House Armed Services Committee released its Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act language this evening, in a bill that spends billions more than the Navy had asked for on five additional ships and more than two dozen additional aircraft. Read More
McCain: Where’s the Strategy? Mattis: ‘We’re Working It’
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis shakes hands with Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, before hearing on the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Budget Request from the Department of Defense in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington D.C., June 13, 2017. DoD Photo
Spearheaded by Chairman Sen. John McCain, members of the Senate Armed Services Committee pressed the Pentagon’s top leadership why it had yet to produce a new national security strategy to inform the budget six months into the Trump administration. Read More
Congress Presses SECDEF Mattis on U.S. Navy Path to 355 Ships
Secretary of Defense James Mattis
Seapower leaders on the House Armed Services Committee pressed Pentagon leaders Monday night to explain why the president’s 2018 budget request does not put the Navy on a path to have a fleet of 355 ships. Read More
DoN $180B Budget Request Emphasizes Readiness; Reduces Spending on Ships, Aircraft
A sailor welds during the ongoing maintinance availability for carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) on June 26, 2014. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated following Pentagon and Navy press briefings on the FY 2018 budget.
THE PENTAGON – The Department of the Navy’s $180-billion budget request sets out to improve overall readiness of the Navy and the Marine Corps while making only modest asks for new aircraft and ships. Read More
