Northrop Grumman and Terma Work on Composite Parts for the F-35

11/08/2012
Nov. 6, 2012 Northrop Grumman Corporation has entered a long-term agreement (LTA) with the advanced composites manufacturer Terma A/S in Denmark to manufacture component parts for the international F-35 Lightning II program. The LTA, which has a potential value of more than $97 million upon completion of all follow-on options,…

Aussie Air Chief Visits Fuesalage Assembly Line

11/08/2012
11/5/12 The Royal Australian Air Force's Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Geoff Brown, met Northrop Grumman Corporation NOC -1.56%  executives during a visit to the company's F-35 Lightning II production facility in Palmdale on Nov. 2. As part of his visit, Brown received an update on the F-35 program…

Israeli team visits Lockheed Martin F-35 production facility

11/08/2012
11/6/12 A team of Israeli air force personnel visited Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Fort Worth facility in Texas as part of preparations for an initial batch of 20 F-35A Joint Strike Fighters due to receive some Israeli-made systems, Flightglobal reports. Israeli experts are working with the manufacturer to prepare the…

The Challenge of Transforming US Forces in South Korea

11/07/2012
2012-11-07 By Richard Weitz The U.S-ROK military alliance has been the foundation of both countries’ strategic policies for over fifty years. The United States and South Korea signed a Mutual Defense Treaty in October 1953 following the 1950-53 Korean War, in which 33,600 American troops were killed and more than 100,000…

Ship Design and Innovation: Captain Mercer Discusses the USS America

11/06/2012
2012-11-06 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 role,…

The F-35 Composites and the Future of Military Aviation

11/01/2012
By Jeff Sloan, Editor in Chief, Composites World The advantage of the F-35 is its “joint” concept, which spreads cost, manufacturing and risk among several partner countries, each of which is a program customer as well. The disadvantage — as with Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner — is that too many cooks…

Singapore Faces the Future: Shaping an IKC2 Defense Force

10/31/2012
2012-10-31 Singapore is at the vortex of what we are calling the Strategic Quadrangle in the Pacific.  The intersection of the defense of Japan, South Korea, Australia and Singapore forms a quadrangle of defense interests in providing for the security of key US allies in the region.  The US is…

It is Not Just a New Ship: It is the Launch Point for a New Era

10/30/2012
2012-10-30 by Robbin Laird It is not often that a new ship of the line is christened.  And when it is, thoughts of how it might be used, where it might operate and how it might make new naval history are part of the excitement. This was clearly evident at the…