According to a Lockheed Martin Press release: FORT WORTH, Texas, Feb. 15, 2013 [caption id="attachment_50938" align="alignnone" width="300"] CF-6 First Flight Photo by Angel DelCueto Carroll Credit: Lockheed Martin[/caption] The first Lockheed Martin production model F-35C carrier variant, known as CF-6, flew its first sortie Thursday. Upon delivery later this year,…
2012-12-05 Second Line of Defense has provided significant coverage of the Osprey and the F-35B and their impact on the evolution of the USMC and of the role of air systems in the evolution of combat operations. Surprisingly, or perhaps not so, there was little national press presence at the…
2012-12-05 We have written often about allies and their role in the F-35 program. We have also written about the unique aspects of the impact of the F-35 as a fleet of aircraft. And we have brought the two together in a discussion of evolving Pacific strategy and the potential…
2012-11-30 by Robbin Laird Ed Timperlake has pioneered work on how to understand the entire approach to re-thinking what the new generation of combat air is really all about. To capture the difference between his generation of aircraft and the F-35, Timperlake has focused on what he calls the Z-axis and…
2012-11-30 Earlier Second Line of Defense had a wide-ranging discussion with Don Kinard of Lockheed Martin, one of the best production specialists in the aviation business today. In that conversation we focused on the approach to building wings for the F-35. https://www.sldinfo.com/the-f-35a-lands-at-eglin-what-does-that-say-about-the-current-state-of-production/ https://www.sldinfo.com/an-update-on-f-35-manufacturing-the-case-of-wing-assembly/ In our most recent visit to the F-35…
2012-11-21 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,…
2012-11-18 by Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake Dateline: Yuma, Arizona Later this month the first 2 F-35 Bravos are arriving at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma. As the future home of five F-35 JSF operational squadrons of 16 aircraft each and one operational test and evaluation squadron of eight…
2012-11-19 According to a Lockheed Martin Press Release: An F-35A Lightning II conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) aircraft rapidly expanded its high angle of attack (AOA) test envelope to its 50 degree limit in only four flights during recent flight testing here. F-35A test aircraft are limited to AOAs of…
