WASHINGTON: As jetlagged aerospace executives and defense reporters head home from a frankly discouraging Farnborough Air Show, Washington is gearing up for storm of stop-sequestration events this coming week. What it will actually accomplish is an open question. Sequestration has hardly been a quiet topic this past week, with a pointed, partisan, and unproductive exchange… Keep reading →

PENTAGON: The Navy’s F/A-XX initiative has been depicted as an ultra-advanced “sixth generation” aircraft that the Navy would prefer to buy instead of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. But Breaking Defense interviews with Navy and industry sources strongly suggest that the service has little appetite for another expensive development program and that the most… Keep reading →

I’ve changed the erroneous title I’d slapped on Mackenzie Eaglen’s JSF piece; my apology & explanation at http://aol.it/MdMfoi SydneyFreedberg

FIGHTER DEMONSTRATION CENTER, ARLINGTON, VA: Lockheed Martin executives gathered to tout their F-35 Joint Strike Fighter dismissed a widely reported Pentagon estimate that the aircraft would ultimately cost $1.1 trillion to develop, build, and operate over 55 years. In fact, they argued, the F-35 will cost less to operate than the airplanes it will replace… Keep reading →

[This piece was originally published under the title “CNO Ready To Cut Back On F-35 Joint Strike Fighter,” which was factually incorrect; see our note below.] Chief of Naval Operations Jonathan Greenert’s recent article in Proceedings announces in public what many have already known in private: The U.S. Navy is not wholly committed to the… Keep reading →

After repeated delays, an industry team led by Textron Inc. has won a $212.7 million contract for the next-generation hovercraft transport to carry Marine forces from ship to shore, the Navy announced at 5:01 today. The blandly named “Ship to Shore Connector” (SSC) will replace the aging Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC), also built by… Keep reading →

On the eve of the international Farnborough Airshow, a prominent aerospace and defense analyst says there is a wave of investment ready to pour into the defense sector – but investors are “paralyzed” by the unresolved threat of sequestration. “A lot of people in the industry and a lot of investment capital outside the industry… Keep reading →

Navy announces a slew of appointments for O-6s and O-7s: http://1.usa.gov/M1veiu SydneyFreedberg

PENTAGON: With a new military strategy emphasizing Asia and alliance-building, the U.S. Pacific Fleet today kicked off its largest international exercise in years, known as “Rim of the Pacific” (RIMPAC). Some 42 ships are representing 22 countries, including India, which the US has been wooing as a counterweight to China, and Russia, once the presumed… Keep reading →

Navy announces new commanders for Carrier Strike Groups 1 and 11 out of San Diego, RADMs Steindl and White – and more: http://1.usa.gov/MntN0E SydneyFreedberg