F-35 Program Executive Officer Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan said an engine with the same decibel level of noise as another may be perceived as louder if the character of the noise has a higher or deeper pitched tone. During a press briefing on Oct. 30, Bogdan made an analogy to the F-4 Phantom (see F-35 Noise Good to Go). However, the F-35 engine noise study to which he referred did not compare the F-35’s sound to that of the F-4.
While the Air Force is keeping a seemingly optimistic outlook about the future of its MH-139 Grey Wolf fleet, despite problems receiving FAA certification, another of the service’s helicopter programs is being prematurely curtailed—and officials are already considering what might come next.