F-35B Hot Refuel at MCAS Miramar

08/26/2013
08/26/2013: Two U.S. Marine F-35B Lightning II jets with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, Marine Air Group 13, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW), conduct a training flight from Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma, Ariz. to MCAS Miramar, San Diego, Calif., Aug. 7, 2013 for a hot pit refuel.…

F-35 Maintainers for the F-35A at Eglin: Rolling Out a New Capability

07/25/2013
2013-07-24 Recently, the F-35A maintainers received an award from the base command which highlighted their progress for the past year. According to a press release (July 17, 2013) from the 33rd Fighter Wing: The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program continues to garner accolades, as the 33d Aircraft Maintenance Squadron won the…

The BAE F-35 Production Line: July 2013 Update

07/19/2013
2013-07-18  According to an article in Advance, the UK magazine for Aviation, Defence, Security and Defence Industries, BAE Systems’ new production line for the assembly of F-35 horizontal and vertical tails is operational. (Excerpts): A new revolutionary monorail system for the F-35 assembly line now extends to the manufacture of…

More on the F-35 and Japanese Defense Firms

07/19/2013
2013-07-19 According to The Japan Times: (Excerpt): The F-35 is to be the ASDF’s next-generation mainstay jet. The move came after Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in March that while the Abe administration will maintain Japan’s long-standing ban on exporting arms, it has decided to allow domestic companies to…

Japan and Participation in F-35 Production

07/18/2013
2013-07-18 (Excerpts): The Japanese government has decided to allow domestic defense-related manufacturers to participate in production of U.S. F-35 stealth fighter jets for the Air Self-Defense Force, government sources said Wednesday. The government, which will sign contracts with the manufacturers in August, is aiming to solidify Japan-U.S. relations in the…

Lockheed Martin Delivers F-35 Targeting System

07/18/2013
2013-07-18 (Excerpts) Lockheed Martin recently delivered the 100th Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS) for the F-35 Lightning II. EOTS is the first sensor that combines forward-looking infrared and infrared search and track functionality to provide F-35 pilots with situational awareness and air-to-air and air-to-surface targeting from a safe distance. This technology…