Quickstep signs contract for even more advanced F-35 composites

06/25/2012
6/24/12: Quickstep Holdings has secured its second Long Term Agreement (LTA) with Northrop Grumman to manufacture parts for the international F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, allowing the company to manufacture more complex parts for the aircrafts. Quickstep, based in Perth, is an advanced composites manufacturer currently supplying…

Allies and the F-35: Getting on With It

06/24/2012
6/24/12: by Ed Timperlake A recent Heritage Foundation seminar focused on the F-35 and allies. The presentations were by Colonel Kevin J. Killea, 
United States Marine Corps, Dr. Robbin F. Laird, 
Co-Founder and Senior Analyst, Second Line of Defense and Anthony “Lazer” Lazarski 
Military Legislative Assistant, Office of Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK). The…

New Australian F-35 Facility

06/22/2012
Northrop Grumman F-35 Supplier Quickstep Opens New Facility BANKSTOWN, Australia, June 22, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ Northrop Grumman Corporation's largest F-35 Australian supplier--Quickstep Technologies Pty Ltd.--opened a new facility in Bankstown, Australia. Quickstep supplies composite skins and subassemblies for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter center fuselage that is…

The Norwegian F-35 Decision: Understanding the Impact of Weapons Integration

06/21/2012
6/21/12: by Robbin Laird A key element of the F-35 decision by Norway was the acceptance of the integration of a new Kongsberg missile onto the F-35 itself. Through the development of the Naval Strike Missile (NSM), the Norwegian Armed Forces has established KONGSBERG and other Norwegian industry in the…

A Marine Corps Perspective on the F-35: Getting on With It

06/17/2012
At a roundtable on the F-35 and allies held at the Heritage Foundation on June 7, 2012, Colonel Kevin J. Killea
provided a Marine Corps perspective on the program. Currently, he is the head of Aviation Weapons Requirements branch for headquarters United States Marine Corps.  He’s a graduate of both the…

Norway Moves Ahead with the F-35

06/15/2012
6/15/12: Norway today commenced the largest public procurement project in its history. The event was marked by Minister of Defence Espen Barth Eide authorizing the order for the first F-35A Lightning II for the Norwegian Armed Forces. The decision to move forward was reached following an extended dialogue with the…

The Why for the Norwegian F-35 Decision: The Arctic Dimension

06/15/2012
6/15/12: by Robbin Laird I personally have done quite a lot of work on Arctic security.  And in the course of working on the Arctic and dealing with Norwegians, Canadians and Danes, the F-35 and in the Norwegian case the Aegis systems came into play as well.  And in a…

A Congressional Staffer Perspective on the F-35: “Build Planes and Get Them into the Hands of the Warfighters”

06/15/2012
A key member of the panel at the Heritage Foundation event on the F-35 and allies was Anthony “Lazer” Lazarski, 
Military Legislative Assistant, Office of Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK).  Lazarski is a former USAF officer with operational experience in several type model series of aircraft, and a very knowledgeable practitioner…