Managing Defense Supply Chains: Shaping A 21st Century Way Ahead

03/01/2015
2015-03-01 When the F-35 is discussed, subsumed in the discussion is the evolution of defense supply chains. The F-35 is built around global supply chains, and the digital systems by which the aircraft is built is rooted in a triangular relationship among the digital systems used by suppliers, the final…

“The Plane is a Broker of Information”: A Conversation with Mike Skaff

02/25/2015
2015-02-25 By Robbin Laird The F-35 has entered aviation history at a juncture where information dominance is clearly recognized as the pivotal discriminator in 21st century air enabled defense operations. For the F-35, the cockpit design coupled with the breakthrough pilot helmet synergistically operating with the cockpit is a foundational…

Shaping an S-Cubed Combat Revolution: Preparing for the Coming Hypersonic Cruise Missile Threat

02/24/2015
2015-02-18 By Ed Timperlake “You know that stealth may be over-rated,” Admiral Greenert, the Chief of Naval Operations, recently noted during a speech at the Office of Naval Research Naval Future Force Science and Technology Expo, Washington D.C. “I don’t want to necessarily say that it’s over but let’s face…

The F-35’s Distributed Aperture System: An Update from Rolling Meadow and Sydney’s North Shore

02/24/2015
2015-02-22 The distributed aperture system or DAS is a key set of sensors on the F-35 which provides data for the fused cockpit system and the helmet display. In an interview which we did at Pax River with a USMC test pilot in the spring of 2010, it was clear…

The Launch of Plan Jericho: The RAAF Lays Down its Transformation Strategy

02/24/2015
2015-02-24 Earlier, we highlighted the coming of Plan Jericho to the Australian defense forces. As Air Marshal Brown noted on May 29, 2014: I intend to release Plan Jericho, the RAAF transformation plan, in early 2015. It will guide our force transformation, enabled by our new 5th Gen capabilities, over the…

Uk Government Invests in RAF Marham: Preparing for the F-35

02/22/2015
2015-02-22 According to a story on the UK Ministry of Defence website: The East of England will receive a further boost as the hub for the UK’s future combat aircraft fleet, with hundreds of millions of pounds invested to help prepare for the arrival of the UK’s first F-35B Lightning…