Daily Report

Nov. 24, 2014

F-35 LRIP 8 Contract Awarded

The Pentagon on Friday awarded Lockheed Martin a $4.7 billion contract for the eighth Lot of F-35 strike fighters, the program office announced. The contract covers 43 F-35s of all three variants, including 29 for US services and 14 for...

More F-35 Lot 8 Details

The Lot 8 contract for F-35 strike fighters signed Friday carried some additional agreements covering the program, according to a program office statement. In addition to continuing Lockheed Martin’s agreement to cover “100 percent of all cost overruns,” the contact...

F-35 Partners and the Box Score

The Lot 8 contract for the F-35 program awarded Friday includes 14 jets for international partners. They include two F-35As each for Israel, Italy, and Norway; four F-35As for Japan and four F-35Bs for Britain. The contract also provides “manufacturing...

Mitchell Institute, RAND Host Airpower Summit

Some 200 Air Force leaders and scholars gathered Nov. 21 at a forum co-hosted by AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies and RAND Corp. in Santa Monica, Calif., to discuss the future of aerospace power. Following opening remarks by AFA...

Sat-Sparse Pacific Problems

Future intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations—especially in the Pacific—may be hampered by spottier satellite coverage than currently enjoyed over Iraq and Afghanistan, Air Combat Command boss Gen. Hawk Carlisle warned. “The good news for the CENTCOM [area of responsibility] and...

Hercules’ New Flak Vest

Members of Air Force Reserve Command’s 910th Airlift Wing in Youngstown are testing a new lighter weight and more secure cockpit armor plating system on their C-130Hs that the Air Force is looking to install across its legacy Hercules fleet....

New Sense and Avoid Technology for RPAs

The manufacturer of the Air Force’s MQ-9 Reaper announced two new technological developments related to the company’s “sense and avoid” research efforts. Working with the Federal Aviation Administration and Honeywell, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., recently tested a proof of...

SECAF Visits Guam

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James visited Andersen AFB, Guam, Nov. 19-20, gaining insights into several ongoing Pacific missions such as the continuous bomber presence. James was briefed on the CBP, theater security package rotations to and from Andersen, the...

A Talon for Vance Airpark

A static display T-38A Talon trainer recently joined the Vance AFB, Okla., airpark thanks to funds raised by the surrounding community of Enid, Okla., base officials announced. Vance received Talon serial number 65-10325 from the Museum of Aviation at Robins...