The Coming of the F-35B: From “Probation,” to IOC, to Transformation

08/10/2015
2015-08-06 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake When Secretary Gates decided to put the F-35B on probation and Senator McCain became his powerful echo chamber we responded at the time on the pages of Breaking Defense that these actions were misguided. We have spent many hours with the pilots, maintainers,…

Building an 8,000-Hour Tactical Aircraft: 21st Century Materials Technology

08/03/2015
2015-07-27 By Ed Timperlake and Robbin Laird “Scientists dream about doing great things. Engineers do them” from the James Michener book Space. The quote originated from one of the legendary American Aeronautical Engineers, Jack Runckel who began with NACA before WWII and finished with NASA. As many history books state:…

The Defense Contract Management Agency’s Role in the F-35 Roll Out

08/03/2015
2015-08-03 According to an August 3, 2015, DoD story written by Thomas Perry, the role of the Defense Contract Management Agency team working on the F-35 roll out was the focus of attention. FORT WORTH, Texas - “First off I would like to thank Col. Staphol, Col. Stathlo, Col. Staful…

First Flight of F-35 With Australian Vertical Tails

07/27/2015
2015-07-27 A key aspect of the F-35 global supply chain is suppliers from a variety of nations building parts which become elements of other nations airplanes. It is not simply about Australia building parts for Australian F-35s; it is about building for the global fleet. An example are the vertical…

F-35 Academic Training Center: A Video Overview

07/18/2015
07/16/2015: Second Line of Defense visited the 33rd Fighter Wing prior to any Academic Training Center (ATC) being built, let alone functioning. The video produced by the 33rd Fighter Wing shows the ATC operating today and several of the activities conducted at the ATC. The students in the classroom and…