The F-22 fleet has been produced in a number of configurations, but the Air Force will ultimately consolidate it to just two, says Lockheed Martin F-22 program manager George Shultz. When the increment 3.2 software is installed, most F-22s will be brought up to “a common standard,” Schultz told reporters during a media tour of the Raptor production line in Marietta, Ga., last week. Some early F-22s “are harder to do” and will not be included, he said. The configuration changes will be worked in when F-22s go into depot for modifications. (For more from Schultz’s comments, read MADL Integration on F-22 May Slip.)
Lloyd Austin, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Pentagon, spent his Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 19 pressing his civilian bona fides to lawmakers, with some pledging opposition to the waiver Austin would need to become the nation’s first Black Defense Secretary. Austin spent 40 years in the military…