A Canadian CF-18 along with four possible contenders for follow-on fighters for Canada. Top to bottom: Saab JAS 39 Gripen, Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin F-35A Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter, Eurofighter Typhoon. DoD Photos
Boeing and Lockheed Martin, rivals locked in Canada’s long-time saga of considering a next-generation fighter, were two of four firms invited this week to submit bids to build the aircraft.
An F-35A Lightning II fighter jet takes off during Astral Knight 2019 on June 6, 2019, at Aviano Air Base, Italy. US Air Force Photo
Lockheed Martin is confident new customers will step forward to buy the F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighters intended for Turkey, company executives said during a Tuesday conference call with analysts. Read More
F-35A Lightning II aircraft receive aerial refuelings from a Travis KC-10 Extender July 13, 2016 on the flight from England to the United States. US Air Force photo.
THE PENTAGON – Turkey is being excised from the F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter program, and the U.S. will pay an estimated $500 to 600 million to retool the program in the aftermath, the Defense Department’s acquisition chief told reporters on Wednesday. Read More
A Member of the F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team prepares to launch Capt. Andrew “Dojo” Olson, F-35 pilot, during the Bagotville International Air Show in Quebec, Canada on June 22, 2019. US Air Force Photo
THE PENTAGON – The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program’s civilian and military management are in the midst of a changeover just as government officials from the U.S. and partner countries are considering ejecting Turkey from involvement in the aircraft’s manufacture and deployment. Read More
A Sikorsky VH-92A lands at the White House during a test on September 22, 2018. The VH-92A will become the new presidential transport helicopter, replacing an aging fleet of VH-3D and VH-60N helicopters. Naval Air Systems Command photo.
This post has been updated with an additional statement from the Marine Corps.
Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. was awarded a $542 million to build six VH-92A Presidential Helicopters to mark the start of low-rate initial production, the Navy announced Monday. Read More
X-47B Salty Dog 501 flies over USS Theodore Roosevelt on Aug. 17, 2014. US Naval Institute Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Navy won’t pursue the development of a lethal carrier-based unmanned aircraft before it fields its unmanned MQ-25A Stingray tanker sometime in the 2020s, the service’s requirements chief said last week. Read More
Freedom-class LCS St. Louis (LCS-19), left, in Marinette, Wisc., on Dec. 15, 2018, as Billings (LCS-15) is under construction and preparing for commissioning. US Navy Photo
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – Littoral Combat Ship builders are researching how to cram in additional lethal power into the existing Freedom- and Independence-variant ships. Read More
The following is the May 17, 2019 Congressional Research Service report, Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
The CH-53K King Stallion lifts a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, January 18, 2018. The purpose of this exercise was to show the Capabilities of the CH-53K. US Marine Corps photo.
The Department of the Navy awarded Sikorsky a $1.13-billion contract for 12 CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopters, the Defense Department announced on Friday. Read More
U.S. Marines with Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 14th Marines, 4th Marine Regiment, fire a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) during Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course (WTI) 1-18 in Yuma, Ariz. on Oct. 17, 2017. US Marine Corps Photo
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The Marine Corps is moving to integrate the Naval Strike Missile with its own forces as the service is pushing into a new era of island-hopping warfare. Read More
