11/18/12 by Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake Dateline Yuma, Arizona Second Line of Defense visited Yuma Arizona this week and the F-35 factory in Fort Worth focusing on the next phase of the F-35 program, standing up an operational squadron. We will have much to write on these events in…
11/16/12 by James Gilbert, Yuma Sun In what was history in the making, the first F-35 Lightning II, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter, landed at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma on Friday afternoon. Marine pilot Maj. Aric Liberman arrived at the air station at approximately 1 p.m., having…
Temco Tool in Manchester has been working with BAE Systems in Nashua on the F-35 since 2001. The high-precision machine shop produces antenna arrays and other finely engineered components for the stealth aircraft designed to be the fighter jet for the new millennium. Over the decade, the contracts have added…
2012-11-12 In a four-part follow up set of interviews, Second Line of Defense is looking at the role and impact of the USS America. Interviews have been conducted with the prospective commander of the ship, the head of amphibious ship building in the USN, a senior USMC general on its…
With the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter scheduled to begin arriving in phases later this fall, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma has been a very busy place the past two years as it has prepared for its new aircraft, pilots and crews. Lt. Col. John Hicks, airfield operations officer, said there…
11/8/12 Japan will allow domestic firms to take part in production of the F-35 fighter, the first such case since Tokyo last year relaxed a self-imposed ban on arms exports, a report said Thursday. Japanese firms will make up to 40 per cent of parts that will be used in…
11/7/12 Japan and the United States are close to finalizing the workshare arrangement supporting the production of Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft for the Japan Air Self-Defence Force. A spokesman from the Japan Ministry of Defence (MoD) told IHS Jane's on 31 October that the two…
2012-11-08 By Robbin Laird Many analysts and politicians have discussed the F-35 as if it was a simple replacement aircraft. And in such conversations, the notion of stealth is seen as a high-end capability needed only sparingly and in specialized circumstances. If this were true, the Marines would not be…
