F-35 Lightning II
Marines and sailors have worked together since May 18 to conduct Operational Testing 1, the assessment of the integration of the F-35B Lightning II, at sea, aboard USS Wasp (LHD-1). Throughout OT-1, the aircraft and personnel involved have been challenged with a wide variety of flight and deck operations, allowing the gathering of data which will lay the groundwork for future F-35B deployments aboard U.S. Navy amphibious carriers. “This operational ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
The Pentagon’s fighter jet F-35 may not be fully operational until 2019 due to a newly discovered computer glitch. The $400 billion ultra-sophisticated jet, the most expensive in US history, was expected to enter service in 2015. F-35 is the fifth generation combat aircraft which is designed in three variations for US Air Force, Navy and Marines to replace out of date aircraft. It was planned to join the Marines ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
U.S. officials said on Wednesday they were nearing a fix for the engine that powers Lockheed Martin Corp’s (LMT.N) F-35 fighter jet and the United Technologies Corp (UTX.N) unit that makes the engine has agreed to pay to retrofit 156 already delivered. Pentagon chief arms buyer Frank Kendall told reporters that the U.S. military was close to determining the root cause of a major engine failure in June, and test ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
The Republic of Korea finalized its formal selection of the Lockheed Martin F-35A aircraft for its F-X fighter acquisition program, announcing its intent to sign the Letter of Offer and Acceptance between the U.S. and Korean governments for 40 F-35A Conventional Take Off and Landing variant jets with initial deliveries beginning in 2018. “We are honored by and appreciate the trust and confidence the Republic of Korea has placed in ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
The US military temporarily grounded its entire F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet fleet at the weekend after an apparent engine oil leak, the latest glitch for the much-vaunted program. It came after a pilot was alerted to an engine oil problem while in flight on Tuesday and landed safely at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona. Out of all 97 fighter jets currently available, most have been inspected and ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
Turkey has decided to order two F-35 fighter jets built by Lockheed Martin Corp, the government said on May 6. It will be the first order of Turkey’s pre-announced plan to purchase 100 F-35 jets for $16 billion, which had been expected to begin next year. The statement released after Defense Industry Executive Committee Meeting, which convened under leadership of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said Turkey’s commitment to the ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fleet recently surpassed 15,000 flight hours, marking a major milestone for the program. “Flying 15,000 hours itself demonstrates that the program is maturing, but what I think is even more impressive is the fact that operational F-35s accounted for more than half of those flight hours,” said J.D. McFarlan, Lockheed Martin’s vice president for F-35 Test & Verification. “While the fleet continues to train, we ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
The Republic of Korea has formally selected the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft for its F-X fighter acquisition program. “We are honored by and appreciate the trust and confidence the Republic of Korea has placed in the 5th Generation F-35 to meet its demanding security requirements. We look forward to supporting the discussions between the Republic of Korea and U.S. governments in support of a final agreement this year,” said Orlando ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
Escorted by two F-16 fighting Falcons, Luke Air Force Base’s first F-35 Lightning II arrived a little after 11 a.m. March 10, from the Lockheed Martin factory in Fort Worth, Texas. “This is a day that has been a long time coming,” Col. John Hanna, the 56th Operations Group commander, said at a press conference after the jet landed. “It’s the result of many years of hard work by countless people in ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
Despite incessant technical problems and delays, the US military has no plans to cancel the new F-35 fighter jet, the costliest weapons program in Pentagon history. The Joint Strike Fighter has been touted as a technological wonder that will dominate the skies but it has suffered one setback after another, putting the project seven years behind schedule and $167 billion over budget. As the Pentagon prepares to unveil its proposed ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
South Korea plans to finalize the purchase of 40 next-generation F-35 jet fighters from US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin later this year, Seoul’s military procurement agency said. “We will… push to sign the contract in the third quarter… after testing and further negotiations,” Jung Kwang-Sun, the Defense Acquisition Program ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
U.S. Defense Department report warns that ongoing software, maintenance and reliability problems with Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 stealth fighter could delay the Marine Corps' plans to start using its F-35 jets by mid-2015. The latest report by the Pentagon's chief weapons tester, Michael Gilmore, provides a detailed ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
Dec
03
F-35 impresses RAF pilot
As training with the new F-35B Lightning II stealth aircraft continues in Florida, USA, a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot has described how impressed he is with the ‘game-changing’ jet. Flight Lieutenant Hugh Nichols completed his first sortie in the next-generation stealth fighter at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, United States earlier this month. The Lightning II aircraft, together with the Typhoon FGR4, will provide the RAF combat air ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
The 33rd Fighter Wing and the F-35 Lightning II program reached a new milestone when Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron-501 completed its first short take-off and vertical landing mission here Oct. 24. Maj. Brendan M. Walsh flew the hour-long mission in which the aircraft remained in the STOVL configuration for the entire flight. The aircraft flew pattern procedures around the base before gliding in, stopping in mid-air about 100 feet off the Eglin runway, ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
