2013-12-03 We have just published a Special Report drawing together a number of key interviews and analyses of the Italian approach to the F-35. In the report, we look at the Italian engagement with the F-35 and the thinking of Italian airpower leaders about the impact of the F-35 on…
2013-11-22 by Scott C. Truver Rear Admiral Wayne E. Meyer, the “father” of the Aegis Weapon System, often exclaimed, “There is nothing more complex than the design, engineering and construction of a warship!” That complexity is at its most extreme in the case of America’s nuclear-powered aircraft carriers (CVNs). And…
2013-11-05 A core advantage of having a global manufacturing system like the F-35 (from Cameri to Fort Worth to Japan) is that improvements in one move through the whole manufacturing chain. Here is one improvement in process manufacturing which the Office of Naval Research is shaping: A faster, more precise…
2013-11-04 By Robbin Laird Some have argued that it is the end of the manned aircraft age and the birth of the unmanned one. But this seems to not have clicked with the global market, which will drive significant manned fighter acquisition in the next two decades. So-called unmanned systems, better…
2013-11-04 By Robbin Laird The Italians were significant innovators at the beginning of the era of airpower. They continued throughout the history of airpower to innovate and with the launch of the F-35, they are proving to be innovators once again. Their facilities at Cameri provide support not only for…
2013-11-03 By Robbin Laird During my visit to Cameri in October 2013, I had a chance to visit the Cameri facility with Fred Napurano, the Italian Program In-Country Operations Lead for Lockheed Martin. Napurano is the key person interacting with Alenia Aermacchi (AAeM) to assist in the standup of the facility. The…
2013-11-01 By Robbin Laird During my October 2013 visit to Italy, I spent two days at the Cameri F-35 facility. While there, I had a chance to discuss the facility and the approach of the Italians with Debra Palmer, Lockheed Martin’s General Manager at the facility. Palmer comes from a military…
2013-10-30 By Robbin Laird During a visit with Ed Timperlake at Yuma USMC Air Station and then at the Lockheed Martin Fort Worth F-35 facility, Ed and I had a chance to discuss the Cameri F-35 effort with two young Lockheed Martin Aero officials involved in that effort. We sat down…