Aircraft

The Air Force could expand its recent $442 million contract to Raytheon to develop force element terminals for the Family of Beyond-Line-of-Sight Terminals program if the service secures funding for a validated objective requirement to install the systems on its tanker fleet.

The Pentagon will hear a briefing Friday on Lockheed Martin's proposal for a five-year, fixed-price performance-based logistics sustainment contract for the F-35 -- a deal that could set the stage for a future multiyear sustainment deal.

The Government Accountability Office has noticed the Defense Department's increased emphasis on accelerating its notoriously slow acquisition system, but the watchdog agency is concerned weapon system reliability might be sacrificed at the expense of speed.

Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord said today Boeing should be "very forthcoming" with the Defense Department as the company's new chief executive pledges to "rebuild trust" amid alarming reports of efforts to mislead federal regulators about the troubled 737 MAX aircraft.

Congressional appropriators claim the Air Force is making a habit of transferring large sums of Overseas Contingency Operations flying hour funding to pay for other OCO needs, writing in a report accompanying their compromise fiscal year 2020 defense spending bill that the service has shifted nearly $1.3 billion in the last two years.

Lawmakers are proposing a slew of F-35 oversight provisions as part of a defense policy bill released Monday by conference committee members, including requirements for sustainment cost and readiness details, reporting on the Block 4 modernization process and insight into efforts to rearchitect the Joint Strike Fighter's Autonomic Logistics Information System.

F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin hopes to begin deliveries next spring of a Distributed Mission Training capability that will allow Air Force aircraft to connect in virtual environments.

The Air Force confirmed this week it has an approved acquisition strategy for the F-15EX program and is on track to release a request for proposals in December.

The Air Force as soon as January plans to begin initial modification of the first of two commercial Boeing 747-8 jumbo jets slated for the $5.3 billion next Air Force One program, dubbed the VC-25B, a major event in the high-profile effort to demonstrate initial flight in late 2021.