DefenceTalkAffordability remains the priority for the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter, the Pentagon’s program executive officer for the Defense Department’s most expensive procurement told Congress yesterday. Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher C. Bogdan told the Senate Armed Services Committee’s airland subcommittee that the program has made progress, but he acknowledged it is enormously complicated […]https://www.defencetalk.com/affordability-remains-priority-for-joint-strike-fighter-program-47608/

DefenceTalkAn F-35B Lightning II completed the first short takeoff and vertical landing during a test mission at night to expand the flight envelope and deliver capability to the warfighter. Marine Corps test pilot Maj. C.R. Clift conducted the flight April 2 to gather data on the helmet and lighting conditions for night time operations.The test […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35b-conducts-first-night-time-vertical-landing-47397/

DefenceTalkThe Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress March 29 of a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Korea for 60 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Conventional Take Off and Landing (CTOL) aircraft and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $10.8 billion. The Government of the Republic of Korea […]https://www.defencetalk.com/south-korea-requests-f-35-joint-strike-fighter-aircraft-47352/

DefenceTalkThe first international student aviator at the 33rd Fighter Wing, training to be an F-35B Lightning II instructor pilot, completed his first sortie in the joint strike fighter here March 19. United Kingdom Royal Air Force Squadron Leader Frankie Buchler flew with Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron-501. “There were no surprises, the jet was fun […]https://www.defencetalk.com/first-international-student-pilot-flies-f-35-47226/

DefenceTalkThe F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter program is a different program than it was four years ago, the F-35 program executive officer said here March 12. In a speech at the McAleese/Credit Suisse Defense Programs Conference at the Newseum, Lt. Gen. Christopher C. Bogdan told attendees that he and his predecessor, Navy Vice Adm. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35-production-on-track-program-chief-says-47148/

DefenceTalkThe second Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II for the Netherlands rolled out of the F-35 production facility on March 2. This is the latest step in the production process leading to its eventual assignment to Eglin AFB, Fla., later this summer. The Netherlands is planning to use this conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) jet, known […]https://www.defencetalk.com/2nd-f-35-for-the-netherlands-rolls-out-of-f-35-production-facility-47086/

DefenceTalkF-35 Lightning IIs were cleared for flight Feb. 28 following a temporary suspension after a cracked engine blade was found in a test aircraft earlier in the month. A .06-inch crack was discovered in a third-stage turbine blade in a test aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., Feb. 19. Third-stage blades are located deep […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35s-cleared-to-resume-flight-47043/

DefenceTalkThe Defense Department lifted its grounding of the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter after analysis concluded that a cracked turbine blade in an engine on a single plane resulted from overuse in test operations, according to an official with the F-35 Joint Program Office. In an email statement, the official, Kyra Hawn, said engineers […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-lifts-f-35-grounding-following-inspections-47018/

DefenceTalkThe Pentagon’s director of the F-35 program said Monday the next-generation US fighter jet could be back in the air within a fortnight after an engine crack forced the grounding of test flights. Lieutenant General Christopher Bogdan, in Australia for talks on the jet, also dismissed any talk of foreign customers backing out of the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35-flights-should-resume-soon-pentagon-46961/

DefenceTalkAll F-35s have been grounded as a precaution after a routine engine inspection revealed a crack on an engine blade, Defense Department officials said Feb. 22 here. Officials call this a “cautionary suspension of flight.” The Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps fly F-35s. Inspectors found the crack in an F135 engine installed in an […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35s-grounded-as-precaution-after-crack-found-in-engine-blade-46917/