The F-35 as a 21st century air platform has a number of innovations built into the aircraft and the overall air system to facilitate more effective maintenance and sustainability. One example is the Engine Removal and Installation (R&I) Mobility Trailer built in Australia for the F-35 global enterprise. According to…
Defence has signed an agreement with Lockheed Martin Australia and Lockheed Martin Corporation to ensure the effective long-term sustainment of the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter capability in Australia. The agreement includes intellectual property, technical data and software arrangements for Australia’s direct sovereign sustainment contracts with Lockheed Martin entities. The Minister…
By Robbin Laird I have been travelling to Australia and working with the Williams Foundation in Canberra for five years. I am now a research Fellow at the Foundation. What I have found most fascinating about my time there and the journey of discovery of the RAAF is how they…
The recent news from Red Flag 2019-1 with regard to how the F-35 is teaming with other elements of an air combat force to deliver air superiority is hardly a surprise to readers of Second Line of Defense who have travelled with us over the more than a decade to…
By Andrew McLaughlin Australian industry has been allocated a large proportion of the next round of regional F-35 JSF program Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul and Upgrade (MRO&U) workshare awards. Of the 388 component work assignments awarded in the Asia-Pacific region, Australian companies have been awarded 343 of them. The latest component…
In 2017, Rheinmetall announced that they had won a contract to supply ammunition for the USAF’s F-35s. In a March 6, 2017 press release, the company announced the contract. Rheinmetall has just booked an order from the US Air Force to supply ammunition for the F-35 stealth multirole fighter. The…
In a recent article published by the 388th Fighter Wing Public Affairs on February 15, 2019, an update was provided on Red Flag-19-1 and how the impact of the F-35 is changing the approach to air combat. Today, Airmen from the 388th Fighter Wing’s 4th Fighter Squadron wrapped up flying…
In a recent story by Megan Eckstein published by USNI News on February 20, 2019, the author reports on a panel held at the recent Navy exposition in Washington DC. For the aviation community, the pace of inserting more lethality into the fighter force is already predetermined: the F/A-18 Hornets…
