Free Republic

Shortly before making a final push to ensure that the Marine version of the F-35 fighter was not canceled, the service’s commandant, Gen. James F. Amos, called in a former Marine corporal for a frank talk. The onetime enlisted man, Robert J. Stevens, now heads Lockheed Martin, the giant contractor that has repeatedly run into difficulties in building the plane. And based in part on Mr. Stevens’s assurances that the problems could be fixed, General Amos was able to persuade top Pentagon officials to grant a reprieve — a two-year period to either save the Marine model or forget about...

After 244 days in space since its launch April 22 from Cape Canaveral, Fla., the X-37B orbital test vehicle landing marks the Air Force's latest step in experimental test missions to improve the service's space capabilities, officials said here Dec. 6. The 11,000-pound OTV made an autonomous landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., Dec. 3 at 1:16 a.m., allowing the Air Force to begin evaluation of its functions as a satellite communications, weather and material technology asset, said Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for Space Programs Richard McKinney. "We're in a very serious and important business of...

Here's the latest twist in the Air Force tanker saga: The Russians are coming. Russia's government-owned aerospace company will announce Monday it is competing against Boeing for the $40 billion refueling-tanker contract, a Los Angeles attorney for the company said Friday. United Aircraft of Moscow plans to unveil a U.S. partner and offer a modified version of its Ilyushin Il-96 wide-body plane, said John Kirkland, a Los Angeles lawyer representing the group. The still-unidentified partner, "a U.S. public company and existing defense contractor," would assemble the planes in the U.S., he said. The Russian interest in the tanker bid was...