Free Republic

The pilots of US Air Force F-35 fighters sent to intercept the mystery object over Alaska on Friday say that whatever it was had been “interfering with the sensors of their aircraft” before they shot it down. Three unidentified objects have been spotted over North America in the past 10 days. The first, a giant airship “the size of three buses” is understood to have originated in China although the US and Chinese governments disagree about its exact purpose. While the Pentagon says it was a spy balloon, China says the monster airship was a civilian craft designed to monitor...

Canada And Germany Are The Latest NATO Nations To Join The F-35 “Club” – The debate over whether the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is the world’s best fighter is finished. (Subscribe to Our YouTube Channel Here. 19FortyFive publishes original videos every day.) The decisions by two “holdout” major Western powers, Germany and Canada, to acquire the F-35 leaves no doubt regarding the unique contributions that this aircraft can make to both national and NATO security. Multiple analyses and flyoffs by these two countries and others have ended with the same conclusion: the JSF is the best choice with respect...

The Pentagon has halted deliveries of the highly advanced F-35 Lighting II stealth fighter jet after discovering that a small part of the aircraft was made in China. An alloy magnet used in the engines of the F-35 fighter jet was sourced in China and has triggered a significant stand-down. Pause the Deliveries The F-35 program office has paused deliveries to the U.S. military and international participants in order to determine any potential implications to the operations and security of the stealth fighter jet.

The Pentagon has temporarily halted delivery of F-35 fighter jets to the military branches and international customers after Lockheed Martin discovered a metal component used in the jet’s engine had come from China, according to the Pentagon. The Defense Contract Management Agency notified the F-35 Joint Program Office at the Pentagon on Aug. 19 that an alloy used in magnets contained in the F-35's turbomachine pumps came from China. Lockheed Martin builds the overall aircraft, but the turbomachine is produced by Honeywell. The discovery does not affect flight operations of F-35s already in service, the Joint Program Office said. “We...

The Pentagon has stopped delivery of F-35 fighter jets after the aircraft's maker, Lockheed Martin, found a part used in the jet's engine was made in China, the Defense Department and company confirmed Wednesday...

Will the Su-75 “Checkmate” Reach Serial Production? – Earlier this month, it was reported that Russia’s highly-touted Su-75 “Checkmate” won’t make its maiden flight until at least some time in 2024 at the very earliest. However, the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) – a division of the state-owned military-tech conglomerate Rostec – also announced that it would build four prototypes of the lightweight single-engine fighter in the coming months, with a goal to launch Checkmate serial production just three years later. “We use advanced super-computer technologies in the Checkmate project, which enables us to cut substantially the timeframe of building the...

For 30 days in April and May, a group of expeditionary communications technicians got together at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, with one task: Find a way for the F-35 to transfer data on remote or contested Pacific islands. Often referred to as a “flying computer,” the F-35 has sophisticated technological capabilities, but it also requires datalink connections to use and share vast quantities of information at high speed. When the F-35 lands at U.S. Air Force bases, it unloads its data to a server known as the Air Force Network, or AFNet. Maintainers and operators can then study that...

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program appears to be in a state of suspended development, with little progress made in 2021 toward improving its lackluster performance. The latest report by the Pentagon’s Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E) reveals stagnation and even backsliding in some fleet reliability measures.And that’s just the public DOT&E report.In an unprecedented move, DOT&E is concealing many of the key details of the F-35’s poor performance. For the first time ever, the testing office created a non-public “controlled unclassified information” version of its report, and although there is much overlap between the two versions, the meaningful...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Department of Defense is nearing an agreement with Lockheed Martin Corp (NYSE:LMT) for around 375 F-35 fighter jets over three years, three sources said on Monday, amid expectations of a price increase for the most common version of the jet due to lower quantities and inflation. The first F-35A cost $221 million when it came off the production line in 2007. Since then, production quantities and know-how have increased, helping the price of the stealthy fifth-generation fighter fall to $79 million as it gained buyers. The handshake agreement would come as the aviation industry gathered for...

Recent reports in the Israeli media claim that the country has developed a means of extending the range of its F-35I Adir stealth jets, allegedly providing them with enough reach to hit targets in Iran without needing aerial refueling. The development has been announced together with the integration of a new, locally developed smart bomb for internal carriage in the F-35. These apparent upgrades to the Israeli Air Force’s long-range strike capabilities come as the Israeli leadership announces a harder line against Tehran’s nuclear program, while the air force conducts exercises widely thought to be dress rehearsals for potential raids...

Lyra describes Javelin missiles bouncing off Russian tanks, NATO replacing good weapons with fragile junk (follow the money) and other things that nazi soldiers are not allowed to complain about...

OTTAWA - Canada’s decade-long search for a new fighter jet to replace its aging CF-18s came full circle on Monday as the Liberal government announced negotiations with U.S. defence giant Lockheed Martin to purchase the F-35. Yet even as the end to that circuitous search appeared to finally be in sight, many unanswered questions remained: how much the aircraft will cost? When they will start to arrive in Canada? And were the past 12 years of debate and delays worth it? Procurement Minister Filomena Tassi and Defence Minister Anita Anand confirmed during a news conference that Lockheed Martin’s stealth fighter...

The most expensive weapons program in the world is about to experience cuts in the upcoming U.S. Defense of Department (DoD) budget. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, a trillion-dollar program to swap out nearly every fighter jet in the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, will experience procurement cuts under DoD's upcoming "Selected Acquisition Report" (SAR), according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with information about the weapon's program cost. DoD is expected to order 61 F-35s in the next budget, 33 less than what was planned. The reduction comes as the F-35 program is expected to exceed $770 billion since...

Germany will replace some of its aging Tornado bomber jets with U.S.-made F-35A Lightning II aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons, the country’s defense minister said Monday. Announcing the decision, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said Germany also will upgrade its Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets for electronic warfare — a capability that’s also currently fulfilled by the Tornado jets. The Eurofighter will be replaced beginning in 2040 with the Future Combat Air System, or FCAS, that’s being jointly developed with France and Spain, she said. Germany’s air force commander, Ingo Gerhartz, said the Russian war in Ukraine made it necessary to...

Germany plans to buy up to 35 US-made F-35 fighter jets and 15 Eurofighter jets, a parliamentary source said Monday, as part of a major push to modernise the armed forces in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The F-35 jets made by Lockheed Martin would replace Germany's decades-old Tornado fleet, according to media reports confirmed by the source. Tornados are the only Luftwaffe planes capable of carrying US nuclear bombs stationed in Germany that are a key part of NATO deterrence.

Germany is reportedly planning to equip its air force with US-built F-35 stealth military jets. Berlin has previously announced that it will invest more in defense in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Germany has decided in principle to purchase the U.S. fighter jet F-35 built by Lockheed Martin to replace its aging Tornado fleet, according to reports on Monday. The decision, if confirmed, comes after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz last month announced a massive boost in defense spending as the Ukraine conflict forces Berlin to reassess its foreign and defense policies. Why does Germany need the planes? Berlin is...

During the first Gulf War, Baghdad was one of the most heavily defended air space any Air Force had faced in recent history. More than 3,000 antiaircraft guns and over 60 SAM batteries protected the capital. The F-117 was the first aircraft to begin targeting Iraqi radar stations, Command centres and other high value targets over Baghdad Just 8 F-117s were responsible for the successful re-attack on Baghdad Nuclear Research Facility , where a previous strike comprising of 75* non-stealthy platforms failed (Package Q Strike ). Package Q Strike was the first time non-stealthy platforms were sent into Baghdad and...

Leaked video captured the harrowing moment a fighter jet crashed onto the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson before plunging into the South China Sea last month. The pilot was recovered after ejecting from the F-35C Lightning II, which was seen bobbing in the water without its canopy. Seven sailors were wounded in the Jan. 24 incident. The footage captured the aircraft’s final moments from the Pilot’s Landing Aid Television, or PLAT, camera as well as from the ship’s so-called “island,” the command center for flight-deck operations. The F-35C is seen banking as it descends rapidly toward the...

An F-35C Lightning II, assigned to the ‘Argonauts’ of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147, launches off the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) on Jan. 14, 2022. (Image: US Navy Photo) The U.S. Navy is racing to retrieve an advanced F-35C fighter jet from the bottom of the South China Sea after it crashed on an aircraft carrier and plunged overboard – taking with it highly classified technology worth over $100 million. The F-35C crash-landed on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson during routine military operations on Jan. 27, the Navy said. The...

The Navy confirmed Friday that a photo and video of an F-35 fighter jet that crashed into the South China Sea this week that were shared on social media are both legitimate. The images were taken by someone aboard the USS Carl Vinson, the Navy said. In addition to investigating the cause of the crash, the Navy is now investigating the leak of the photo and video. "The ship has assessed that the video and photo covered in the media today were taken onboard USS CARL VINSON (CVN 70) during the crash. There is an ongoing investigation of the incident,"...