JSF HQ: Lockheed Martin “could be much more collaborative and cooperative but they aren’t,” the head of the Joint Strike Fighter program, Vice Adm. Mat Winter, told reporters today. “They could, but they choose not to.” Winter’s comments are not nearly as searing as those of his predecessor Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, who famously said… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: I vividly remember Chris Bogdan’s first public appearance as the effective head of the F-35 program. It was at the Air Force Association’s annual September conference in 2012 and he said, very simply and quite passionately that the relationship between contractor Lockheed Martin and the Joint Program Office was “the worst I’ve ever seen.”… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: It’s good to learn from your mistakes. It’s better yet to learn from other people’s. On Friday, I watched three battle-scarred acquisition experts — including the admiral who turned the F-35 around — advise a young officer from the Future Vertical Lift initiative, who was furiously taking notes. The panel’s theme: how FVL, which… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Everyone now knows Lockheed Martin and the Pentagon placed far too much faith in the benefits of concurrency — that is, building production model aircraft while finishing ground and flight testing. But we’ve had relatively few data points to illustrate the issue. Thanks to a Request for Proposals issued Dec. 16, however, we now know… Keep reading →

DoD and #Lockheed Martin, after much signaling, "reached an agreement in principle" on #F-35 LRIP-5. Adm. Venlet sez ends year "on a positive note" ColinClarkAol

WASHINGTON: The Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter is the biggest conventional weapons program in history and Vice Adm. David Venlet has run it to much acclaim and quite a bit of backbiting, depending on who you talk with. This afternoon the Pentagon very quietly sent out notice that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta had nominated Venlet’s… Keep reading →

New JSF Director! Deputy Maj. Gen. Bogdan nominated for third star, assignment as director. Rumors swirled for last 2 weeks abt Adm. Venlet. colinclarkaol

FARNBOROUGH AIR SHOW: Headline: Dutch Parliament votes to kill Joint Strike Fighter. Reality: Dutch parliamentarians cast meaningless vote as they position for elections in six months. That sort of sums up much of what we’ve heard about the F-35 here. There are a few headlines but very little that’s really newsworthy. Of course, you can… Keep reading →

PENTAGON: The world’s top buyer of military equipment won’t be there, but the Pentagon is sending a senior acquisition official from the Office of Secretary of Defense to the Farnborough Air Show in July. Frank Kendall, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics won’t be there. And the head of the F-35 program, the… Keep reading →

The program executive officer for the problem-plagued F-35 said Thursday he has “great confidence” the multi-service fighter can deliver the oft-promised stealth and the sophisticated package of sensors. Vice Adm. David Venlet said he has “measured data” to show that. In a late afternoon address to an audience of defense and financial industry representatives, Venlet… Keep reading →