Senior officials from the Joint Strike Fighter program office
and lead F-35 contractor Lockheed Martin said this week they expect to have a
definitized contract in place for the aircraft's sixth and seventh production
lots by the summer, which would represent a major improvement over the
year-long negotiations required for Lot 5.929 words
An environmental study that would determine whether the Air
Force can relocate a fleet of F-16 fighter jets from one side of Alaska to the
other should be complete by the end of October.1010 words
Satellite payload developer ITT Exelis is working with the
Air Force Research Lab to shrink the size of the Global Positioning System's
navigation payload -- an effort to make it more efficient to manufacture and
launch.679 words
The Air Force and prime contractor Lockheed Martin have
launched the first official class of F-35A student pilots through their flight
training program at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, a long-awaited milestone
for the Joint Strike Fighter program.1089 words
The new ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee
wants Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to delay the delivery of 20 F-16
fighter jets to Egypt. Ranking Member Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) made the request
in a Dec. 17 letter to Clinton but waited until Jan. 22, after he was
officially announced as the committee's incoming ranking member, to tout the
letter in a press release. "Until Egypt is able to establish a democratic
parliament and ensure stability in the country, the delivery of F-16s to Egypt
should be postponed for further review," he said.96 words
Air Force officials plan to release a long-awaited request
for proposals for a multibillion-dollar launch range support contract this
quarter, despite receiving full approval for their acquisition strategy as far
back as September.419 words
Air Force officials have identified an upgrade to the C-130J fleet’s flight management system as the driver behind continuous delays on the delivery of the aircraft’s Block Upgrade 7.0, but the service has still not defined operational testing plans set to occur this fiscal year.
689 words
The Air Force is looking to wring efficiencies out of its
foreign military sales enterprise -- which accounted for more than $130 billion
last year -- during 2013, a major step toward refining and improving the
service's fiscal interactions with other countries, according to a senior
official.766 words
As the Air Force works to keep its test and training ranges
viable over the next decade and beyond, service officials are working to
prioritize and develop a plan to address the challenges that impact this
critical infrastructure, according to a report the service issued to Congress
earlier this month.637 words
Oklahoma state officials are in the process of establishing a
network of test sites and linking them via unmanned aerial system (UAS) air
corridors that could be used by the military services and the Department of
Homeland Security.829 words
The Air Force is working closely with Defense Department
leadership and U.S. Cyber Command to plan for a potential influx of 1,000 new
cyber employees between fiscal years 2014 and 2016.313 words
The Air Force is moving ahead on its development of a
follow-on weather satellite, despite an announcement last month that the
program was short on funds.434 words
Air Force officials are in the process of executing a program
plan to improve MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft and push them toward the end of
their development testing phase.542 words
Air Force officials recently completed system requirements
and functional reviews with all three contractors participating in the
development of the Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar, according
to the 3DELRR program office.579 words
The F-35 program's recent grounding of its Marine Corps
variant due to a fuel-line failure comes amid continuing concern in the
Pentagon and on Capitol Hill about the reliability of all three versions of the
fighter jet.590 words
Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall has waived two
requirements to enable the Air Force's next-generation Global Positioning
System control capability to enter its engineering and manufacturing
development phase, a move that is drawing scrutiny on Capitol Hill.699 words
The Pentagon should designate a single office to procure all satellite communications assets and services, according to a Defense Business Board task force.
585 words
The Pentagon's top weapons tester contends that a critical
enabling technology for information assurance continues to struggle with an
"overly aggressive" test schedule, but the Defense Department disagrees with
the assessment.1354 words
The Defense Department must revise and resubmit its
microelectronics strategy in light of congressional concerns that the recent
report lacks enough details, especially about photonics, according to a
congressional source.906 words
The Marine Corps variant of the Joint Strike Fighter is likely to remain grounded for "several weeks" until program officials are confident they have explained and corrected an issue with the F-35B's fueldraulic system, according to a senior program official.
325 words
The Air Force is readying the final stage of a winner-take-all competition for a $2.1 billion radar program, briefing contenders Raytheon, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin on a recently published draft solicitation for the balance of the acquisition.
580 words
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