Aircraft

The Air Force expects to complete fleetwide retrofits to the KC-46 tanker’s cargo locking system by March 2020, the program office confirmed this week.

The total value of the Air Force's foreign military sales in fiscal year 2019 was $17 billion, about 53% more than the $11.1 billion in aircraft and weaponry the service sold to other countries the previous year, according to an Air Force security assistance official.

The Pentagon is updating the F-35's acquisition program baseline, acquisition chief Ellen Lord confirmed today, after announcing earlier this month that milestone C and a full-rate production decision would likely be delayed more than a year due to problems integrating the jet into a new Joint Simulation Environment.

The recently revealed schedule deferral and cost increase to the B61-12 warhead life extension program are not affecting the production schedule of its tailkit assembly effort, which will deliver its first flyable units in January, well within the established time frame.

As Lockheed Martin works to replace Turkish suppliers on the F-35 program, the company's associated risk is covered by the U.S. government, according to the contractor's chief executive.

The Air Force plans to conduct a system requirements review of Boeing's fix to the KC-46 remote vision system in November and begin testing the upgraded system within the next six weeks, a service spokesman told Inside Defense this week.

The head of Air Force Air Combat Command told reporters recently that the Air Force's plan to apply a "Century Series" concept to the Next-Generation Air Dominance program is not a change of course, but instead aligns well with studies the service has been conducting over the last few years.

F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin is proposing a sweeping five-year sustainment contract it hopes will set the stage for a future multiyear deal.

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- The Air Force is in the final stages of completing an acquisition strategy for the F-15EX, and is mapping out options for future capability upgrades, the program executive officer for fighters and bombers told Inside Defense today.