The Joint Strike Fighter program may celebrate a very public milestone—being given its official name—this Friday when Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley plan to formally unveil the first production F-35 at a ceremony at prime contractor Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Tex., facility, reports the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The paper confirms earlier speculation, saying that “heavy betting” among aerospace industry officials leans toward Lightning—or rather Lightning II.
The White House announced its United States Space Priorities Framework in a document released concurrently with Vice President Kamala Harris' first National Space Council meeting. Listed among five U.S. priorities is to “defend its national security interests from the growing scope and scale of space and counterspace threats.”