2013-03-27 Singapore is poised to be the first user of F-35Bs buying them to operate largely from land bases. The significance of the deployment flexibility has not been lost on Singapore. The forthcoming decision will add Singapore to three other members of the B working group, namely, the USN-USMC, the…
2013-03-24 Similar to Italy, Japan is going to build a FAL similar to what Italy has built, according to Jane’s. According to Jon Grevatt in an article posted on 3/22/13: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) is preparing to invest billions of yen to construct an assembly line to support its licensed…
2013-03-21 The photo below shows two F-35Bs involved in squadron training at Yuma USMC Air Station. [caption id="attachment_51744" align="alignnone" width="300"] VMFA-121 in hover mode. March 21, 2013. Credit: Yuma Air Station[/caption] The photo of VMFA-121's aircraft 15 (BF-19) shows it in hover mode at pad 4 in Yuma. In the…
The first international student aviator at the 33rd Fighter Wing, training to be an F-35B Lightning II instructor pilot, completed his first sortie in the joint strike fighter here March 19. United Kingdom Royal Air Force Squadron Leader Frankie Buchler flew with Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron-501. "There were no…
2013-03-15 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake In a wide ranging discussion with Dr. Mark Lewis about hypersonic cruise missiles, former Chief Scientist of the USAF and now head of IDA’s Science and Technology Policy Institute, Dr. Lewis simply stopped and said: “Why are we putting 3rd and 4th generation…
Northrop Grumman reports that detection of hostile ground fire has been added to the capabilities of its Electro-Optical Distributed Aperture System. The AN/AAQ-37 was designed for use by F-35 Lightning IIs for simultaneously detecting and tracking aircraft and missiles in every direction and for providing visual imagery for day or…
2013-03-10 by Robbin Laird I was spending my Sunday working on the last chapter of our book on shaping a 21st century Pacific strategy. The F-35 among other systems figures prominently in how to build a 21st strategy, not simply funding a 20th century residue. We have interviewed many of…
2013-03-09 According to a Lockheed Martin press release, a new F-35B has flown but this time with a new Center Wing Assembly produced in Georgia. The first Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-35 Lightning II with a Center Wing Assembly (CWA) built at the Lockheed Martin facility in Marietta, Ga., was…
