Free Republic

The U.S. Navy conducted successful test flights Sept. 3 and 4 of two Trident II D5 Fleet Ballistic Missiles (FBMs) built by Lockheed Martin. The Navy launched the unarmed missiles from the submerged submarine USS West Virginia (SSBN 736) in the Atlantic Ocean. The Trident II D5 missile now has achieved 129 consecutive successful test flights since 1989 - a record unmatched by any other large ballistic missile or space launch vehicle. "These successful missile tests again demonstrate the readiness and reliability of the entire Trident II D5 Strategic Weapon System," said Melanie A. Sloane, vice president of Fleet Ballistic...

PICTURES: Lockheed Martin unveils first F-16 Block 52 ordered by Pakistan By Stephen Trimble Lockheed Martin today unveiled the first of up to 36 F-16 Block 52 fighters that could be sold to the Pakistan Air Force in a ceremony attended by the chiefs of both Pakistani US air forces. The so-called “Peace Drive I” programme brokered by the US government once called for Pakistan to buy up to 55 F-16s. That number has been reduced to firm orders for 12 single-seat F-16C and six F-16Ds. Pakistan also has signed options to buy 18 more F-16 Block 52s, all powered...

Navy to Build 6 Mini-Aegis Destroyers By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The Navy plans to launch six 5,600-ton ``mini-Aegis'' destroyers between 2019 and 2026 in an effort to help facilitate coastal and blue-water operations, the service said Tuesday. The plan was unveiled in a report submitted to a National Assembly inspection of the Navy at the Gyeryongdae military compound in South Chungcheong Province. The medium-sized KDX-IIA destroyers equipped with SPY radar and close-in weapon systems will be a core part of the Navy's strategic mobile fleet led by 7,600-ton KDX-III destroyers, it said. The mobile fleet is to consist of...

UAE wants its fighters its own way Ivan Gale If the UAE signs for 60 Rafale fighter aircraft from France’s Dassault later this year, as some expect, in a deal valued at €6 billion (Dh32.2bn) to €10bn, it will be purchasing a jet more advanced than those being flown by the French air force. A more powerful engine, a new air-to-air missile and cutting-edge radar systems are some of the requirements the UAE has made to Dassault and its French partners Safran, Thales and MBDA, according to media reports. Such requests for upgrades and modifications have been a central theme...

An amateur historian says the wreckage of an Air Force jet believed lost at sea 54 years ago with two crewmen aboard has been found off the coast of Southern California. G. Pat Macha, who heads a group of volunteer searchers, said Monday that the plane was found earlier this month during a sonar survey for another aircraft near Los Angeles. Macha says divers matched a serial number on the wreckage to a Lockheed-Martin T-33A jet trainer. He believes the wreckage was a missing Air Force jet that departed Los Angeles International Airport on Oct. 15, 1955. Macha turned over...

Few details available about military mission ... except that it succeeded An Atlas 5 rocket has lifted off from Florida carrying a highly classified military satellite. The rocket launched into a nearly cloudless sky at 5:35 p.m. ET Tuesday. United Launch Alliance, a joint venture involving Lockheed Martin and Boeing, handled the launch. Eric Brian, a spokesman for the 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base, declined to say which branch of the military will command the satellite in orbit. Brian said the rocket carried a $500 million payload. The satellite was made by Lockheed Martin. United Launch Alliance...

U.S. weighing F-16 options for Iraq Wed Sep 2, 2009 7:23pm EDT By Jim Wolf WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force is crafting several options designed to meet an Iraqi request for Lockheed Martin Corp F-16 fighter aircraft, a senior Air Force official said on Wednesday. Whether new or refurbished, the F-16 is a potential key to fostering U.S. and Iraqi ability to operate together in the future, said Bruce Lemkin, the Air Force's point person for international affairs. "It is extraordinarily important," he told Reuters by telephone. "It's not just the airplane. It's the partnership that comes with...

Competition to supply planes to India sets up fierce bidding war By Jonathan Manthorpe, Vancouver Sun August 31, 2009 The Indian Air Force began flight trials last week of the six combat jets competing for a $12-billion contract to supply New Delhi with up to 186 multi-role advanced fighters. Competition is fierce to grab what is one of the largest arms deals to surface in the post-Cold War era. And, as always seems to be the case with arms deals and especially those involving India, the project is already mired in scandal and controversy. The focus of much speculation is...

Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Space Systems Co. said Monday it plans to cut about 800 employees, or 4.5% of its workforce, by the end of the year

Here is a video report on a new prototype military vehicle made by Lockheed Martin that flipped over while carrying a news crew. The crew was on board as Lockheed was showcasing the safety and maneuverability of the new JLTV, which they believe surpasses the Humvee used for so long by the military. Just prior to the test drive that went wrong, Lockheed officials had been bragging that in 50,000 miles of test driving, the JLTV had never flipped over. But, inexplicably, it flipped over shortly thereafter with the news crew on board. No word yet from Lockheed Martin as...

F-18s, F-16s racing to reach Bangalore for trials Prashanth G N, TNN 6 August 2009, 12:53am IST BANGALORE: F-18s and F-16s. The US fighter aircraft are in a neck and neck race to reach Bangalore for commencement of test trials by the IAF. The trials, to begin in the next three weeks, are a matter of pride for Bangalore as it is one among three locations selected, the other two being Leh and Jaisalmer. IAF will purchase 126 new fighter aircraft. Both aircraft had come in as recently as October 2008 for Aero India and were slugging it out even...

EDWARDS AFB - A veteran Lockheed Martin test pilot died in an F-22A crash after nearly losing consciousness during a high-speed, high-g test maneuver, according to an Air Force accident investigation report released Friday. The $140 million jet, assigned to Edward Air Force Base's 412th Flight Test Wing, crashed during a mission to test the effects of carrying weapons on the aircraft's performance. These tests involved a series of high-speed, high-performance maneuvers in which the pilot experienced several times the force of gravity. The accident investigation concluded that Cooley experienced such disorientation brought on by the high g-forces, and recovered...

Israel mulls buying South Korean fighter jets for training Jerusalem, Aug 2 (Xinhua) The Israeli Air Force is planning to purchase South Korea’s T-50 Golden Eagle fighter jets in a bid to replace its ageing Skyhawk fleet, the Ha’aretz daily reported Sunday. A three-member delegation of the Israeli Air Force is expected to visit Seoul next week to discuss the matter with their South Korean counterparts. This is the first time in 40 years that Israel is considering to purchase fighter jets outside the US. The report added that Israel is planning to purchase at least 30 jets to be...

WASHINGTON, July 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday killed new funding for the disputed F-22 fighter jet program as part of a $636.3 billion military spending bill that was expected to clear the chamber. House action on a vote of 269-165 to bury additional production of Lockheed Martin Corp's (LMT.N) F-22 solidified an important victory for the Obama administration on procurement reform and nullified a veto threat over the matter.

An intensifying arms race looms over Latin America because of copycat weapons buying triggered by recent military buildups in some countries and reactions of their neighbors, defense analysts said Wednesday. Heavy arms shopping by Venezuela, even before the war of words erupted over the June 28 Honduras coup and U.S. military facilities in Colombia, has followed bickering over cross-border arms trade, including Chilean military exports to Ecuador and other neighbors. As rearmament gathers pace, the continent's own defense industry has seen its markets challenged by overseas suppliers, especially China and Russia. Latin arms suppliers include Brazil's Embraer and Chile's Enaer....

Lockheed Martin has unveiled the first naval variant for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme in a roll-out ceremony at its final assembly plant in Fort Worth, Texas. '"It's an honour and a privilege and it is a great day", says Adm Gary Roughhead, chief of naval operations. The US Navy plans to operate 260 F-35C carrier variants among the 2,443 aircraft in the current US programme. "This airplane will top anything that comes it's way," Roughead adds. The first prototype CV model to roll off the production line - CF-1 - follows the debut of a conventional variant for...

SKorea, US team up to build and export Aegis warships by Staff Writers Seoul (AFP) July 22, 2009 US defence group Lockheed Martin and South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries will team up to build and export mid-size warships equipped with advanced Aegis weapons systems, an official said Wednesday. They signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in May 2006 to jointly produce Aegis-equipped guided missile ships, Hyundai Heavy spokesman Cho Woo-Tae told AFP. Cho said it is thought to be very rare for Lockheed to partner with a foreign company to produce Aegis-equipped vessels for possible sale to a third country....

The most remarkable thing happened in Washington this past Tuesday. Congress scrapped the F-22 stealth fighter jet, killing off a 30-year-old Pentagon hardware program that employs 25,000 people in 46 states. It was a dogfight almost to the end over $1.75 billion and the need to remake military readiness. Threats and promises, blunt talk and grand gestures -- all were deployed to support an appeal to common sense and for urgent change, according to principals involved. The White House coordinated the ultimately successful vote-wrangling, and its specific tactics may show up again in another epic battle now unfolding: getting Congress...

The ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee says the battle to fund more than 187 F-22 stealth fighters is not over, even though pro-Raptor forces suffered a stinging defeat in the Senate this week. Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon of California told HUMAN EVENTS the next F-22 war zone is a House-Senate committee conference on defense spending. There, as ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, McKeon will fight to preserve final bill language to provide for 12 more jets, as the House approved...Gen. John Corley, who heads Air Force Air Combat Command in Langley, Va., sent a...

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...

The U.S. Senate voted 58-40 on Tuesday to halt production of the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter. The fighter is built by Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) through its Aeronautics unit based in Marietta, Ga. The F-22 program, to develop, build and buy the jets, is managed by Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The center is part of Air Force Materiel Command, a major command that also is headquartered there. The command executes cradle-to-grave research and acquisition of all Air Force weapon technology, including new aircraft. The Senate’s vote to trim $1.75 billion from a $680 billion defense...

The Washington Post reports that the F-22 amendment in the senate defense spending bill was voted down 58-40. Many have called this pork, and I’m inclined to agree with them. However, I’m confused by a few things, namely that taking the Obama administration’s stimulus logic full circle seems to justify the F-22 program. There are tons of stimulus projects that create less jobs and are of dubious merit. For an aviation related example look at the small airports that receive million of dollars and serve minuscule communities. I’m positive that the F-22 program would “save or create” far more jobs...

The U.S. Senate voted 58-40 on Tuesday to halt production of the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter. The fighter is built by Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) through its Aeronautics unit based in Marietta, Ga. The Senate’s vote to trim $1.75 billion from a $680 billion defense bill will lead to the loss of thousands of jobs across America, Lockheed has previously said. Production of the F-22 at the Marietta plant will now stop in 2012. However, the plant also builds the C-130J Hercules and will begin building the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Lockheed’s Aeronautics division employs about 2,000 people on...

Imagine a fighter jet that would give the United States complete air superiority in any conflict. An aircraft that’s faster, has longer range, and is more fuel-efficient at high speeds than any aircraft ever built. A plane virtually invisible to radar and deadly accurate, almost guaranteeing that any selected target would be destroyed. An aircraft so advanced that the armed forces of every country on earth are scared to death of it and know that they would be defenseless against it for years to come. We have that plane. It’s called the F-22 Raptor, and our President and Commander-in-Chief, Barack...

France's Dassault targets Lockheed in combat aircraft deal Ajai Shukla / New Delhi July 16, 2009, 0:30 IST The gloves are off in the competition to sell India 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) for an estimated Rs 50,000 crore. Two days after Business Standard reported on the sudden replacement of Lockheed Martin India’s CEO, Lockheed’s French rival, Dassault Aviation — whose Rafale fighter is pitched against Lockheed Martin’s F-16 IN in the MMRCA tender — is contemplating asking the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) to disqualify Lockheed Martin from the tender. The reason: sources in Dassault allege that Lockheed...

Without congressional intervention, the Air Force's ability to conduct air superiority missions will be increasingly at risk over the next three decades. President Obama's fiscal year (FY) 2010 defense budget request would stop production of the F-22A Raptor at just 187 aircraft and permanently shut down this production line.In reality, the F-22A program would actually end production at 186 fighters and not 187, because the March 2009 crash of an F-22 at Edwards Air Force Base involved a test aircraft not part of the official program of record. President Obama's decision to cap F-22A production at 186 fighters would in...

The F-22A Raptor is the world's most advanced fifth-generation fighter aircraft. The F-22A offers several unique features: thrust-vectoring engines, which make it highly maneuverable; the latest in stealth technology; an avionics system that can fuse information into a single display; and the ability to cruise at supersonic speeds at 50,000 feet. What makes the Raptor spectacular--and why its capabilities cannot simply be replaced by additional F-35 Joint Strike Fighters--is the F-22A's unique ability to accelerate beyond the threat and reposition for attack. Naturally, Congress is protective of these unrivaled technologies. Even though core allies like Japan and Australia have repeatedly...

With a whistleblower lawsuit against Lockheed Martin grabbing headlines for making the startling allegation that the US Air Force's top-of-the-line fighter, the F-22 Raptor, has been supplied defective stealth coatings, further information is now emerging from Pentagon sources that the F-22 programme is indeed the source of substantial worry for the defence establishment. Internal documents, as well as Pentagon officials, reveal that Lockheed Martin's F-22 now requires more than 30 hours of maintenance for every hour that it spends in the skies. This adverse ratio effectively pushes its hourly cost of flying to more than $44,000, which easily outstrips the...

In an unusual move, President Obama sent a letter to the leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee vowing to veto any defense bill that funds more Lockheed Martin F-22 fighter jets. Obama threw down the gauntlet as the Senate took up the 2010 defense authorization bill. The firm commitment to veto any defense bill containing funding for the F-22 puts Obama in a tough position: he would veto bills written by a Democratic Congress. The letter to Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) comes as the two senators introduced an amendment to strip $1.75 billion for seven...

Ex-F-22 engineer to sue Lockheed for stealth design By Stephen Trimble A stealth expert on the F-117 and B-2 programmes intends to file suit against Lockheed Martin later this week for concealing alleged deficiencies with the stealth coatings for the F-22. The pending lawsuit accuses Lockheed of knowingly providing defective coatings used to reduce the aircraft's radar and visual signatures, and covering up the problem by adding 272kg (600lbs) worth of extra layers. The lawsuit comes after the Department of Justice declined an opportunity under the Fair Claims Act to take up the case under seal. Now, Darrol Olsen, who...

India - Last Chance for Super Viper Posted by Graham Warwick at 6/23/2009 3:17 PM CDT I'll be delighted to be proved wrong, but I can't see Lockheed Martin's F-16IN as the front runner in India's 126-aircraft fighter competition, even if it has been rechristened the "Super Viper" (farewell, belatedly, to the unloved Fighting Falcon moniker). Artwork: Lockheed Martin Maybe I am being ageist. I became an aviation journalist in August 1978, the same month and year that the F-16 entered service. And that seems a long time ago to me. But I'm still writing and Lockheed is still building...

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...

U.S. defence industry giant Lockheed Martin said it is open to using some Indian components if chosen to supply the country's navy with its Aegis ballistic missile defense system. "Because of the way the Aegis combat system is constructed, there is the ability to put specific indigenous capabilities in portions of it," Ric Rushton, director for sea-based missile defense at the firm, said late Monday.

Sensitive data detailing launch procedures for a US military missile air defence system have been found on a second-hand computer hard drive bought on eBay. More than 300 hard disks were studied and researchers uncovered other sensitive information including bank account details, medical records, confidential business plans, financial company data, personal id numbers, and job descriptions. The drives were bought from the UK, America, Germany, France and Australia through computer auctions, computer fairs and on the online auction site eBay. The exercise was carried out by BT's Security Research Centre in collaboration with the University of Glamorgan in Wales, Edith...

4/27/2009 - EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) -- The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter test aircraft arrived here April 21 to educate the base and local community about the Department of Defense and world's newest fighter. The arrival of the test F-35, called AA-1, kicked off a week full of events to showcase the aircraft at Eglin Air Force Base. "We are very proud to host these JSF events," said Col. Arnold Bunch, the Air Armament Center vice commander. "We hope everyone has a chance to see the aircraft, ask questions and get a better understanding of its...

Finland Getting Top US Missiles? published Apr 1 05:32 PM, updated Apr 2 03:20 PM The Finnish Air Force is buying at least 200 million euros worth of new equipment for its F-18C Hornet jet fighters. American JASSM air-to-surface missiles may become the latest addition to Finnish fleets. The government’s financial affairs committee gave the go-ahead on Wednesday to buy the weapons from the US Navy. The hardware includes long-range air-to-ground missiles. The upgrade is part of a 17-year development programme with a total price tag of about one billion euros. Under the plan, the entire fleet of Hornet jets...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force on Monday endorsed the Pentagon in its plan to end production of Lockheed Martin Corp's top-of-the-line F-22 fighter jets after having pushed to buy more for years. "This is the time to make the transition from F-22 to F-35 production," Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and General Norton Schwartz, the service's top uniformed officer, wrote in an opinion piece in the Washington Post.

Five former military personnel have come forward to reveal that they worked at the secretive Area 51 testing facility. While stationed at Area 51 they claimed they worked on top secret CIA and military projects including a supersonic jet that could travel at three times the speed of sound. The appearance and flight performance of the top secret OXCART program led it to being often mistaken as a UFO according to the whistleblowers. A Los Angeles Times article with their testimonies concluded that the UFO mystery has been solved. Before celebrating the solution of the UFO mystery, it’s worth considering...

Washington —- The Defense Department plans to end the F-22 Raptor fighter jet program that employs 2,000 workers in Marietta. The move is part of one of the most sweeping makeovers of defense spending in recent history. Yet the economic hit to the Atlanta area might not be as bad as initially expected. The Pentagon also announced Monday that it’s ramping up production of another jet, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, that is slated to be partly assembled in Cobb County. U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) wasn’t mollified. “It is unacceptable that this administration wants to eliminate 2,000 jobs in...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The end of a fighter jet built for the Cold War and cancellation of a new fleet of presidential helicopters sparked concerns of job cuts at Lockheed Martin Corp. and its partners -- but did not appear to shake Wall Street's confidence in defense stocks. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday the Pentagon will end the F-22 fighter jet and White House helicopter programs run by Lockheed, but would increase production of the company's Joint Strike Fighter. Job and other budget figures released by Gates sought to assuage fears of deep cuts at the nation's largest defense...

In a blow to Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon has decided to purchase to end funding of the F-22 fighter jet. The decision by Defense Secretary Robert Gates will rouse widespread opposition in Congress and is likely to bog down the 2010 budget approval process, with F-22 supporters maneuvering to secure more money. The Pentagon will fund four of the radar-evading stealth fighters in the upcoming 2009 emergency war-spending request, but those additional aircraft will do little to keep the production line in Marietta, Ga., open beyond 2011. Lockheed Martin is the main contractor for the F-22, each of which costs...

A KF-16 fighter jet crashed into the West Sea during a training mission on Tuesday. It was the sixth crash of a KF-16 since they were introduced in 1994. The Air Force says the crash rate among its fleet of around 130 KF-16s is low compared to other countries that operate the same aircraft, but since we shall have to use it as our main fighter jet until 2020, it is a source of serious concern. Each KF-16 fighter costs around W40 billion (US$1=W1,381) and the losses from the crashes so far total W240 billion. Fortunately, the two pilots were...

Iraqi Air Force Looks To Rebuild With F-16s By Michael Bruno The Iraqi Air Force has a three-phase, 11-year improvement plan, including plans to buy T-6 trainers and eventually a few dozen multirole Lockheed Martin F-16s by the middle of next decade, while the navy there is looking for offshore patrol boats, military officials said near Washington this morning. But the war-torn Middle East country is increasingly facing a budget squeeze of its own, they also said. “Right now, budget is the No. 1 driver impacting our way forward,” said U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, commanding general of the...

Defense Ministry eyes possible lift of US ban on foreign sales of F-22 fighter Mar. 29, 2009 Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST The Defense Ministry will closely follow discussions in Congress next month over the United States' 2010 fiscal defense budget amid growing speculation that a ban on foreign sales of the stealth F-22 fighter jet may be lifted to keep the threatened production line alive. Israel has in the past expressed interest in the fifth-generation aircraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin, but has been unable to place an order due to a congressional ban on foreign exports. In addition...

Lockheed Martin’s F-35 joint strike fighter program has passed a couple of more milestones as the $300 billion program, the Pentagon’s largest weapons-development effort, continues to make progress. A U.S. Marine Corps test pilot became only the fourth man to fly one of the F-35 Lightning II test aircraft Thursday, taking off one day after British officials confirmed an order for that nation’s first three aircraft. .... British Defense Secretary John Hutton, on a visit to Washington on Wednesday, confirmed Britain’s long-expected order for three F-35B aircraft to be used as part of the overall flight and systems development testing...

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...

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...

S. Korea Eyes Fighter Jet for Landing Ship F-35B fighter jet By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter South Korea is looking at introducing the U.S. Lockheed Martin-built F-35B fighter variant, to fly from its 14,000-ton Dokdo large-deck landing ship, along with the F-35A air force version, as part of mid- and long-term force improvement plans, a source here said Sunday. The move comes as the country's arms procurement agency, Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), is preparing to open the third-phase F-X fighter acquisition program in the coming years, he said. DAPA said earlier that it would launch the next-phase F-X bid...

Navalizing the F-22 Raptor Restoring America's Maritime Air Dominance 07:36 GMT, February 23, 2009 May 7th, 1942, during the Battle of the Coral Sea, was the day when naval warfare changed forever. This was the first fleet action in which aircraft carriers engaged each other. It was also history’s first naval battle in which neither side's ships sighted or fired directly upon each other. Although technically a win for the Japanese Navy, its forces were sufficiently weakened that in the subsequent Battle of Midway, the United States Navy convincingly defeated the Imperial Japanese Navy. Since then, the USN has never...