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As the JSF founding members squirm for excuses to cut projected orders, anticipating the program's soaring costs consuming growing shares of local defense budgets, Israel is expected to become the first international customer to commit to the next generation stealth fighter, although the country has not formally joined the program as one of the 'founding members'. Bowing under unprecedented financial pressure, the U.K. is moving to axe the planned construction of one aircraft carrier, along with up to 88 F-35B (V/STOL) fighters that would be operating on board, saving about £7.6 billion in out-year budget. Financial issues have also led...

Lockheed Martin has marked successful entry into low rate initial production on the F-35 Lightning II Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS). The first production units have been delivered to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth, TX, for integration onto the aircraft. Embedded into the F-35's fuselage with an innovative faceted sapphire window, the low-drag, stealthy EOTS is the world's first and only sensor combining forward-looking infrared and infrared search and track functionality. The F-35 EOTS will provide Lightning II pilots with significant air-to-air and air-to-ground situational awareness in a single compact and completely passive sensor. "Our team looks forward to meeting...

Australia has given its final approval for the first group of Joint Strike Fighters, worth $3 billion for 14 aircraft to be delivered in 2014. The Ministry of Defense said the F-35 aircraft will be handed over in the United States, ready to begin initial training and test activities and are to replace Australia's F/A-18F Super Hornets. Australia's first operational squadron will be based at Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown and will be ready for operations in 2018, a government statement said. The acquisition in 2014 is the first of three purchases for three squadrons totaling 72 planes, all...

The Australian defense department’s uphill struggle to control acquisition programs is progressing, but it is far from reaching fruition. The government’s decision to go ahead with the purchase of up to 100 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters will test what lessons have been learned from delays on airborne early warning aircraft, tankers and helicopters. Schedule performance has long been a thorn in the side of the department, which in recent years has rolled out a range of reform measures to try to curb these costly failings. Even more efforts are on the drawing board, in large part out of concern that...

Israel is sticking to its guns on a demand the United States allow it to integrate its own electronic warfare suite in Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, even though the Americans have given the green light to install other Israeli systems in the jet. Israel wants to buy an initial batch of 25 F-35s, enough for one squadron, in fiscal 2012 and would like to acquire another 50. The U.S. Department of Defense and Maryland-based Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor in the program, want to finalize a contract with Israel as soon as possible. The main holdup has been...

The Pentagon, after years and years of deliberation and heavy pressure from Britain, has finally decided it will not share the all-important computer source code for the Joint Strike Fighter. Sharing source code would, in the words of one close observer of the program, “turn the British JSF into a Trojan Horse.” The message this source would send the British: “Yes we love you… but who are those third party nationals from the EU working for you? And how do we know we can trust them?” British officials had threatened to pull out of the program if the US did...

The Australian government has decided to buy 14 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters now and not review its larger commitment for operational squadrons for another few years. After weeks of discussions, Canberra says it will put A$3.2 billion ($3 billion) into the U.S.-based Lockheed Martin program to start receiving aircraft in 2014 for testing and training. The aircraft will operate in the U.S. The spending also will buy infrastructure and support. In 2012, the government then plans to make a decision on whether to proceed with buying at least 72 F-35s to equip three Royal Australian Air Force operational squadron. Plans...

Japan is considering buying around 40 F-35 fighter jets as the future mainstay of the nation's air force, it was reported Monday. Japan has officially been pacifist since World War II but has been gradually expanding the role of its military, in part due to concern over nuclear-armed North Korea and China's continued military growth. The defence ministry will likely seek funds in the fiscal 2011 budget for the fighters, Kyodo said citing unnamed sources. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), being developed by the United States, Britain, Australia and other countries, is estimated to cost about nine billion yen...

THE RAAF's plan to acquire up to 100 F-35 joint strike fighters faces a further delay until next year as budget pressures continue to bear down on the Rudd government. In a long-awaited decision, cabinet's national security committee was due to sign off on the $16 billion purchase before Christmas. But defence budget pressures and Defence Department concerns about Australia becoming the lead foreign customer for the initial production models of the F-35 fighter are expected to force a postponement until the new year of a government green light for the acquisition. The expected delay in the NSC's consideration of...

While Israel is interested in purchasing the fifth-generation stealth Joint Strike Fighter from Lockheed Martin, it will likely hinge its order on US acceptance of its demand that Israeli defense industries be allowed to participate in the aircraft's production, senior defense officials said Thursday. On Monday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and discussed potential Israeli involvement in the production of the JSF, also known as the F-35. In the past, Israeli aerospace companies have been integrated into the production of aircraft purchased by the IAF. During their meeting, as well as a meeting...

Senior Air Force officials have applied a new basing process to more than 200 sites for training and operational basing of the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter aircraft. In fall 2008, Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley and Air Force Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz sought to redefine how Air Force experts make basing decisions. The new basing process was put into practice as they prepare to base up to 1,763 planes between now and 2035. "We created a process that was deliberate, repeatable and transparent with defined roles and responsibilities," said Kathleen Ferguson, deputy assistant secretary...

A year ago, USAF had a fully funded modernization program. That program has unraveled. The Air Force is in the throes of what could prove to be one of the greatest upheavals in its turbulent 62-year history. The words “danger” and “difficulty” have become only too appropriate in describing the situation of USAF’s critical combat formations. Today is a time when aged fighters fall out of the sky and no replacement bomber is in sight. The nation bets its basic security on a force that is older—by far—than at any time since World War II. Some see the current turmoil...

The new Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program is often compared to the early nineteen sixties Tactical Fighter eXperimental (TFX/F-111) program, reflecting the multi-service structure of both programs. In concept and sizing, however, the JSF is very much closer to another early nineteen sixties tactical fighter, the Republic AP-63 series F-105 Thunderchief. The F-105 was the workhorse of the Vietnam air war, especially the 1964-1968 Rolling Thunder bombing campaign. Affectionately known as the Lead Sled, Super Hog, Ultra Hog, Iron Butterfly and famously Thud, the F-105A first flew in 1955, and was designed by Republic's legendary Alexander Kartvelli to be a...

America, Israel and Japan are now at a crossroad. America may not be able to sell an export version of the best fighter in the world, the F-22, to Israel and Japan. The reason is the Administration's current insistence on holding fast to a DOD-budgeted production run of F-22s that will stop soon at 187. The harsh reality of stopping F-22 production will be two American allies who are in increasing mortal danger will not have access to the absolute best when they really need America's help. It has been argued that the F-35 is a great substitute for the...

Defense Spending: The TARP bailout may hit $24 trillion, but the Senate says the F-22 is too expensive to build and maintain. So why are the Japanese so desperate to buy this "unnecessary" Cold War weapon?By a vote of 58-40, the Senate on Tuesday voted to remove $1.75 billion set aside in a defense bill to build seven more F-22 Raptors, adding to the 187 stealth technology fighters already in the pipeline. After some hope the production lines would be kept open, the Senate succumbed to arguments by the administration and others that the fighter was too expensive, too hard...

Defense: By a narrow margin, a House subcommittee has voted to keep open the F-22 Raptor production line. The future of American air dominance and the fate of the world's most capable fighter hang in the balance.On May 30, with North Korea huffing and puffing about nuclear war, the first of 12 high-tech U.S. F-22 Raptor fighter jets landed at Kadena Air Base on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa. It was just days after North Korea unnerved the region by detonating a nuclear device. There were reasons the F-22 was deployed to Japan. The stealthy, radar-evading fighter jet is...

F-35 chief endorses competition for engines and radars By Stephen Trimble New F-35 programme chief Brig Gen David Heinz strongly defended the case for funding two separate engines and raised the possibility of qualifying Raytheon or Thales as an alterative radar supplier. Speaking to reporters on 2 June, Heinz spoke out in favour of continuing production of the General Electric/Rolls-Royce F136 alternate engine despite its added costs. "I believe that part of the debate that has to occur -- and is occurring - is, is there an operational risk that we are accepting by having just a single engine manufacturer?"...

Turkey retires first squadron of F-4 Phantoms By Tolga Ozbek Turkey has disbanded its first squadron of McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom strike aircraft, under a transition plan leading to its future operation of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The Turkish air force's 172nd Sqn, based in Malatya Erhac, had flown the F-4E for more than 32 years. It is planned to reform in 2014 following first deliveries of the JSF. Ankara expects to receive its first two F-35s that year, although these will first be used at a training centre in the USA. The air force's first conventional take-off...

The Obama administration has taken a look and after production of 187 aircraft, "the administration proposes to terminate the F-22 Raptor program," and close the Raptor production line. ~snip~ The OMB states that the 187 examples of the F-22 Raptor air superiority fighter, supported by the planned fleet growth of Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) to 2,443 aircraft, "will meet DOD's requirements to maintain air superiority." And, according to the OMB, the Department of Defense agrees. But while the F-22 has frequently been attacked for its expense it has rarely (if ever) been attacked for its demonstrated real-world abilities.

WASHINGTON — Computer spies have broken into the Pentagon's $300 billion Joint Strike Fighter project — the Defense Department's costliest weapons program ever — according to current and former government officials familiar with the attacks. Similar incidents have also breached the Air Force's air-traffic-control system in recent months, these people say. In the case of the fighter-jet program, the intruders were able to copy and siphon off several terabytes of data related to design and electronics systems, officials say, potentially making it easier to defend against the craft. The latest intrusions provide new evidence that a battle is heating up...

WASHINGTON — Computer spies have broken into the Pentagon's $300 billion Joint Strike Fighter project — the Defense Department's costliest weapons program ever — according to current and former government officials familiar with the attacks. Similar incidents have also breached the Air Force's air-traffic-control system in recent months, these people say. In the case of the fighter-jet program, the intruders were able to copy and siphon off several terabytes of data related to design and electronics systems, officials say, potentially making it easier to defend against the craft. The latest intrusions provide new evidence that a battle is heating up...

The Australian think-tank, Air Power Australia (APA), has released another in their series of techno-strategy papers, this time analysing the advancements in Russian-built Integrated Air Defense Systems (IADS) (http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-2009-02.html), and what it means in global strategic terms for the Americans. The APA report is direct and unequivocal – Russian radar and missiles have improved to the point where the US fleet of F-15s, F-16s and F/A-18s, as well as the planned Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), are not capable of surviving against these systems and unless the Americans build another four hundred-plus F-22s, they will lose the strategic advantage they have...

Harrier Matches JSF Range - Official Posted by Bill Sweetman at 3/6/2009 7:39 AM CST Commenter Solomon Shorter's assertion that the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter has more than twice the payload and range of the Harrier started me thinking. Popular sites and standard fact sheets say one thing, my 1996 Jane's something else. How about the US Navy's official aircraft characteristics manual? Fortunately, someone decided that the Harrier was so old, that had to be historic, so they put it on the web. OK, this is not an entirely fair comparison. The JSF is stealthy and supersonic and has an...

F-35 Air Combat Skills Analyzed Mar 5, 2009 By Andy Nativi The F-35’s ability to win an air-to-air engagement is drawing increased attention as the U.S. military and industry’s focus includes expanding the Joint Strike Fighter’s customer base beyond the core purchasing nations. For years, prime contractor Lockheed Martin seemed content to promote the F-35’s “strike fighter” capabilities, if only to avoid competing against its other major fighter program, the F-22 Raptor. But with the F-22 not exportable, Lockheed Martin seems keen to talk up the F-35’s air combat skills to bolster its chances for new foreign military sales—namely, to...

Global Opposition Movement Challenges JSF Mar 4, 2009 By Bill Sweetman The first major military aircraft project of the Internet-era, the Joint Strike Fighter, faces a new opposition: a global, networked movement comprising independent and think-tank analysts, retired air force leaders and industry professionals and politicians concerned with the JSF’s financial and operational risks. All of them have immediate access to worldwide news, official reports and program briefings to an extent that was inconceivable when the F-22 was at the same stage of development a decade ago. There are a few main themes that run through many JSF critiques—some of...

F-16s, IDEXes Past, And The General Posted by Bill Sweetman at 2/25/2009 7:42 AM CST The F-16 is still selling, as Graham's post below reminds us. But I read that post on the same day that I was at IDEX - a show that I last visited in 1995, because when I worked for Another Company, the London office usually did that - and also remembered that retired Major General Khalid al Buainnain, now a very big wheel in UAE defense, was then Colonel Khalid. Even then he was clearly a rising star, with ambitions to see the UAE with...

The Norwegian government has decided to replace the aging fleet of F-16's with American F-35 fighters, according to a press release from the Prime Ministers office. JSF is assessed to be better than the Gripen within all the main tasks: - Intelligence gathering and surveillance. - air to air combat - air to ground and sea surface

UPDATE 1-Israel to buy $15.2 bln in Lockheed fighters By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Tuesday said it approved the sale to Israel of 25 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft built by Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and an option for 50 more in coming years -- a deal valued at up to $15.2 billion. The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), which oversees major arms sales, said the deal is vital to U.S. national security interests to assist Israel as it develops and maintains "a strong and ready self-defense...

BRITAIN is considering pulling out of a £9 billion project with America to produce the new Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft, intended to fly off the Royal Navy’s forthcoming aircraft carriers. The move is part of an increasingly desperate attempt to plug a £1.5 billion shortfall in the defence budget. The RAF’s 25 new Airbus A400 transport aircraft could also be at risk. Studies have now been commissioned to analyse whether Eurofighters could be adapted to fly off the carriers. If Britain abandons the JSF, it will be seen as a further snub to the Americans following Gordon Brown’s decision...

Opposition defends Joint Strike Fighter over simulated dogfights September 11, 2008 THE federal Opposition has dismissed new doubts about the multi-billion dollar Joint Strike Fighter project and the jet's performance. The JSF jets, for which Australia is likely to pay $16 billion, were comprehensively beaten in highly classified simulated dogfights against Russian Sukhoi fighters, it has been reported. The war games, conducted at Hawaii's Hickam airbase last month, were witnessed by at least four RAAF personnel and a member of Australia's peak military spy agency, the Defence Intelligence Organisation, The West Australian said. Opposition defence spokesman Nick Minchin said he...

Joint Strike Fighter: The Latest Hotspot in the U.S. Defense Meltdown While its illusion as an "affordable" multi-role fighter-bomber is alive and well in Washington D.C., the F-35 "Joint Strike Fighter" is already a disaster, and the bad news has barely begun to roll in. Internationally recognized combat aircraft designer Pierre Sprey and Straus Military Reform Project Director Winslow Wheeler summarize the many failures in a new opinion piece that appears in the Sept. 10, 2008 issue of Janes Defence Weekly and is reproduced below. "Joint Strike Fighter: The Latest Hotspot in the U.S. Defense Meltdown" by Pierre M. Sprey...

Sweden's Gripen competes with the F-35 By BOB COX rcox@star-telegram.com FARNBOROUGH, England — Just a few years ago, Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter was widely viewed as the world’s leading next-generation, high-technology aircraft, with no strong Western competitor. That’s no longer the case. Saab, the Swedish industrial conglomerate better known in the U.S. for performance cars than airplanes, has impressed potential aircraft buyers with an aggressive marketing campaign for its upgraded Gripen fighter jet. Denmark and Norway, two nations that have invested in the F-35, are now holding competitions pitting the F-35 against the Gripen. Denmark is...

FARNBOROUGH 2008: Saab pitches Gripen NG as JSF alternative The export market for the Saab Gripen fighter is starting to take off. “It’s all happening at a tremendous pace” says Bob Kemp, senior vice president for international sales & marketing at Gripen International, the company that handles sales of the Swedish aircraft. In the days leading up to the show, Gripen International submitted a proposal to Switzerland, claiming the Gripen offered the most cost-effective and proportionate replacement for the Swiss Air Force’s ageing Northrop Grumman F-5E/F fighters. Rival aircraft such as the Dassault Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon would both...

Israel Wants JSF As Soon As Possible Dec 16, 2007 David A. Fulghum, Robert Wall and Douglas Barrie Israel plans to keep its aerial domination of the Middle East intact, and that includes buying Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, accelerating its first deliveries, and deciding whose advanced equipment will be packed into the stealthy strike aircraft. A senior Israeli air force (IAF) official says those major areas of concern appear to be on the right track because of an “understanding” with the U.S. officials. Washington’s representatives are more ambiguous, saying that there has been no official change to Israel’s...

Lockheed's F-35 program isn't exactly proceeding as planned Earlier this week, DailyTechreported that the Pentagon is trying to sweep some money under the rug to pay for additional Lockheed F-22 fighter planes. Increased concerns over the reliability and structural soundness of the 30-year-old F-15 have lead to the calls for more of the $132 million USD F-22s.It appears that the old F-15 isn't the only aircraft in the U.S. arsenal that is having problems. The F-35 program is facing setbacks of its own. The F-35 program suffered a serious setback on May 3 when a critical electrical system failure occurred...

Earlier versions of this article have been published in the Dutch press, Defesa@Net and Defense-Aerospace. DID has worked with the author to create an edited version with full documentation of sources. On May 3, 2007, during the 19th test flight of the prototype of the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), a serious electrical malfunction occurred in the control of the plane. After an emergency landing the malfunction could be identified as a crucial problem, and it became clear that redesign of critical electronic components was necessary. Producer Lockheed Martin and program officials first announced there was a minor problem, and...

Taxpayers may pay big F-35 costs By BOB COX Star-Telegram Staff Writer Monday, Dec 3, 2007 Foreign nations are in no rush to place orders for Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jets, and that threatens to push the planes' rising cost even higher and shrink future orders. The result is that one way or another U.S. taxpayers will likely shoulder most of the cost of getting the F-35 into production, with the bulk of foreign orders not coming until years from now, when jet prices will have dropped dramatically. Lockheed and the Pentagon have been talking with representatives of...

A shortage of electrical power on board the carrier variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has forced Lockheed Martin to launch a redesign of two key subsystems, even as flight tests are set to resume within the next few weeks. Lockheed engineers discovered in laboratory tests in late 2006 that the F-35C will need 33% more power than its on-board generator can provide. The aircraft's flight-control surfaces are powered by electro-hydrostatic actuators and the electrical system has to meet the condition when all the controls demand peak power in the same instant. The power gap was caused by flawed...

For the second year in a row the Pentagon has insisted that it doesn't need another engine for its next-generation fighter jet. And again, Senator Edward M. Kennedy and other powerful lawmakers are forcing it to build one anyway. Tucked in the annual defense bill moving through Congress is $480 million to develop a spare engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter even though the Air Force concluded in 2005 that it was redundant -- and two independent review boards agreed. That didn't trump pork-barrel politics. General Electric Aircraft Engines in Lynn is designing the spare engine and says the...

FORT WORTH, Texas, April 30 (UPI) -- An automated network has been launched to monitor the mechanical health of the U.S. Joint Strike Fighter and keep the planes flying at lower cost. The F-35 Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) is capable of keeping tabs on the systems within the next-generation warplane in order to plan support and maintenance more efficiently. "Each F-35 will constantly monitor its own systems and automatically relay information to ALIS," Lockheed Vice President Kimberly Gavaletz explained in a statement. "In turn, ALIS will provide an information infrastructure that captures, analyzes, identifies and communicates F-35 characteristics and...

4/27/2007 - EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNEWS) -- All systems are moving toward "go" here as officials prepare for upcoming tests on the next-generation strike fighter, the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. A new mission control room opened its doors earlier this month, equipped so the Integrated Test Force will be able to monitor real-time performance of the aircraft during its test missions here beginning this fall. The long-awaited aircraft, the first to be developed within the Defense Department to meet the needs of three services, promises state-of-the-art technology at a cost officials say simply couldn't be matched...

THE Australian aerospace industry stands to reap about $9 billion from its involvement in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program over the next three decades, according to the plane's US developer, Lockheed Martin. Lockheed F-35 program manager Abhay Paranjape said Australian companies were already earmarked to receive work worth about $5 billion, provided they continued to provide best-value solutions for the project. This did not include work on the fighter's engines, and included no multiplier effect. The US defence firm has moved from the traditional model of industrial offsets for plane orders to a system of competition between countries for...

The UK has cleared a major hurdle over its purchase of Lockheed martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) after years of dispute over the ability to support and maintain the aircraft in the UK. Coming a day before the aircraft, officially dubbed the Lightning II, is due to make its maiden flight, UK defence minister Lord Drayson signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with US deputy secretary of defence Gordon England during a visit in Washington, DC today over the next phase of the project. The agreement guarantees "operational sovereignty" for the UK, Drayson says. Operational sovereignty is defined as...

Britain should cancel a deal with the United States to purchase Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) jets if America does not share sensitive technology by the end of the year, a report by the parliamentary defense committee will say, the Financial Times reported on Dec.8. The yearly report on British weapons spending, which is due to be released Dec. 8, says “it is still uncertain whether the U.S. is prepared to provide the required information”, despite Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George W. Bush agreeing in May that Britain would get the technology it needed.

Ministers have been urged to scrap the multi-billion-pound Joint Strike Fighter project unless the US agrees to share its sensitive technological specifications. Sky Defence Correspondent Geoff Meade says the UK badly needs a replacement for the ageing Harrier - whatever it gets called. Although the Falklands veteran jump jet has proved valuable beyond its years, flying mission after mission in support of ground troops in Afghanistan, the fierce tempo of operations is taking a toll on the lifespan of ageing airframes. The problem is nobody knows yet if the new US-designed jet will be bought, or even what it will...

Nordic threat to JSF programme as Denmark and Norway consider Gripen, push cooperation approvals in Lockheed Martin F-35 programme into 2007 By Evan Sweetman Danish and Norwegian approvals to continue F-35 involvement to slip into 2007, while nations consider rival bids With the USA expecting the first international Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) partners to sign up for the Lockheed Martin F-35 production programme later this month, Denmark and Norway could be poised to delay their decisions on participation until next year. Denmark is expected to sign the memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the production, sustainment and follow-on development (PSFD) phase,...

ANKARA - Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul has signalled Turkey's intention to buy 100 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters in a multi-billion dollar procurement project, Turkish newspapers reported Tuesday. Gonul told Turkish reporters during an official visit to the United States that Turkey and eight other countries involved in the F-35 project would sign a memorandum of understanding by the end of November. "Nine countries, including us, will sign it," newspapers quoted Gonul as saying. The minister was speaking after talks with US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy Gordon England on topics ranging from combating terrorism to the Turkish military's...

Rapped in the Raptor: why Australia must have the best October 2, 2006 A former Top Gun is right to set his cross-hairs on key defence spending, writes Gerry Carmen. THE Peter Criss known to many Australians is the "catman" drummer of iconic band Kiss, whose theatrics include poking out tongues. But there's an Australian namesake who has just stepped out of the shadows and deserves even closer attention because he, too, is poking a mighty important metaphorical tongue — at the government. Retired RAAF air vice-marshal Peter Criss has put aside usual conventions to openly question the wisdom of...

'Not your father’s Oldsmobile’: F-15E+ Super Eagle unveiled By Guy Norris New-build aircraft would cover any significant service-entry delays for F-35 JSF Boeing has revealed details of the proposed F-15E+ “Super Eagle”, which is being offered as a “fourth-generation plus” fighter stopgap to the US Air Force in case of significant delays to the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). The new-build proposal, expected to be offered at a target price of $59 million (2006 US dollars) versus roughly $60 million-plus for the baseline F-35, would be available in 2012-13 assuming an authority to proceed decision in 2009. “That...

Mighty F-35 Lightning 2 Engine Roars To Life by Staff Writers Fort Worth TX (SPX) Sep 21, 2006 The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II completed its first series of engine runs on Monday afternoon, culminating in a full-afterburner test that unleashed 40,000 pounds of thrust - the most ever from a jet-fighter engine. The testing began on Friday, Sept. 15, when Chief Pilot Jon Beesley moved a cockpit switch to the "run" position and brought the Pratt and Whitney [NYSE: UTX] F135 engine to life.