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U.K. Secretary for Defense Liam Fox emphasized Tuesday the importance of the next generation U.S. F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to counter China's development of its own stealth jet after Britain and Australia agreed to strengthen defense cooperation in Asia during talks in Sydney. "Clearly if we don't have the equipment others have we would put ourselves at a potential disadvantage that's why we are very committed to the Joint Strike Figther the F-35 because it does have the sort of fifth generation steath technology we are likely to need in the future," Fox told reporters in response to questions following...

Lockheed Martin has redesigned the bulkhead on the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter where the main landing gear meet the airframe to prevent the type of cracking that was found during ground stress tests on the jet, according to Lockheed and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos. Amos revealed that the bulkhead has been “re-engineered” during a speech today at a Surface Navy Association conference in Arlington, Va. The four-star was discussing the future of the short take-off and vertical landing version of the JSF and the testing challenges it’s been experiencing, saying that he believes Lockheed and the Pentagon can...

The latest signal that the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program is in even more trouble came from soon-to-resign US Defence secretary Robert Gates, in an interview given on his way to his current talks in Beijing. China, Gates said, has “the potential to put some of our capabilities at risk”. His comments were almost entirely directed at the sudden, unpredicted, early appearance of China’s J-20 answer to the JSF, less than a year after Russia flew its response, in the PAK-FA. The evasive language of the Gates interview puts Canberra on further notice that the centerpiece of Australian defence planning...

New evidence of China's military buildup has spurred interest in sales of the U.S.'s next-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, U.S. defense and industry officials said. Beijing's growing military arsenal isn't a new development. But recently publicized images suggest China has made unexpected strides in developing the J-20, a "fifth-generation" aircraft that combines a stealthy, radar-eluding design with high-end fighter performance. Tom Burbage, general manager of the F-35 program for Lockheed Martin Corp., said Beijing's progress in developing the J-20 has created a "stronger sense of urgency" throughout the Asian-Pacific region about air-force modernization. He said Japan, South Korea and Singapore...

Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday suggested Japan should consider buying US fighter jets, during talks in Tokyo, as the country plans for new warplanes, a US official said. In a meeting with Defence Minister Toshimi Kitazawa, Gates "suggested Japan consider three US planes to upgrade their fleet," the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the F/A-18 Hornet and the F-15 Eagle, the senior defence official told AFP. Gates offered that the Pentagon could provide Japan with an analysis of the merits of each aircraft, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Japan is taking stock of its defence hardware...

Marking a step forward to induct the new generation Joint Strike Fighter in its aviation arsenal, the US Marine Corps has successfully test flown an F-35 aircraft in its short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant. The Marine Corps pilots achieved the feat by successfully flying the BF-2, a test variant of the fifth-generation fighter, at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland, on January 6. The aircraft achieved its first vertical landing and conversion back to normal mode, the Marine Corps said. The F-35B is undergoing testing and evaluation during the programme's system design and development phase at...

The Pentagon's declaration this month that it intends to cut back on purchases of Joint Strike Fighters could mean nearly $2 billion in lost engine sales in the next five years for Pratt & Whitney, which is counting on the next-generation aircraft to support its Connecticut factories. That figure is the estimate of an analyst who is an expert on the aerospace industry and its defense programs. Pratt President David Hess downplayed the U.S. defense secretary's announcement that purchases would be cut by 28 percent, which includes 13 fewer of the F-35 fighters in the fiscal year that starts Oct....

As U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates puts the ailing F-35B short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing aircraft on life support and proposes another delay to the single-engine stealthy fighter’s testing, he is also pushing forward a broad savings agenda that will enhance several major aerospace programs. For industry, the results are mixed. The most dramatic impact is on Lockheed Martin, which must turn around the F-35B within two years or expect its termination. Production would be cut by 124 aircraft through Fiscal 2016, limiting the company’s ability to reduce the near-term per-unit price and entice more international customers. Gates is also proposing termination of Raytheon’s...

The cost of a new joint strike fighter jet is now put at €59.7m each, plus €3.9m a year for maintenance and use, the Volkskrant reports on Sunday. The paper bases its claims on documents sent to parliament by defence minister Hans Hillen on Friday. The defence ministry wants to buy 85 jets to replace the aging fleet of F-16s. A final decision has been put off until the next cabinet period, but the current government does want to buy two test planes. Hillen told MPs the first test plan will be handed over in August 2012 and the second...

After 17 months of silence, the 33rd Fighter Wing flightline finally roared back to life Jan. 13, 2011. The 33rd Fighter Wing received four F-16s from the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB, Ariz. The jets will help establish a "battle rhythm," as the wing stands up the first Joint Training Center for the fifth generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. "Everybody who operates on this base will benefit from an airplane taxiing out of here," said Col. James Ravella, 33rd Operations Group commander, "and outside the base, from Tyndall AFB to Pensacola Naval Air Station and other divert bases will...

New design changes raises pressure on future of F-35B variant By Stephen Trimble Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney have revealed the extent of design changes required to release the short take-off and vertical landing F-35B from a newly imposed "probationary" status within two years. The Joint Strike Fighter programme is now cleared to spend another $4.6 billion partly to correct structural and propulsion design flaws in the F-35B. But patience is swiftly cooling with the specialised variant ordered by the US Marine Corps. While the US Air Force's conventional take-off and landing F-35A and the US Navy's F-35C carrier...

Gates expected to slice orders for F-35 as part of spending cuts By Bob Cox rcox@star-telegram.com Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans to cut orders for the F-35 joint strike fighter over the next three to five years as part of broader plan to reduce Pentagon spending by $100 billion, analysts say. Gates will brief Congress today on a five-year spending plan for the Defense Department, including yet another restructuring of the F-35 program to compensate for repeated delays in development and testing. Defense analysts said few details of Gates' intentions have surfaced, but he is widely expected to announce cancellation...

For Lockheed's F-35, 2011 may be a do-or-die year Posted Monday, Jan. 03, 2011 By Bob Cox rcox@star-telegram.com If there's one thing the F-35 joint strike fighter program needs in 2011, it is some clear-cut signs of progress. Hounded by controversy for much of the past two years, the F-35 has become the poster child for troubled, vastly overbudget military weapons programs. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other top officials have repeatedly complained about the performance of contractor Lockheed Martin and soaring cost estimates. Top military and civilian managers of the program were fired or changed jobs. That's not a...

Early Eclipse: F-35 JSF Prospects in the Age of Chinese Stealth Much to the chagrin of Lockheed-Martin's JSF team, it appears there really is a new Chinese stealth fighter. And by the looks of it, the Chinese J-20 is a heavyweight contender built to challenge the F-22 Raptor. For the first time since the end of the Cold War, US air dominance seems in question. But where does this leave the F-35 JSF? JSF is the "one-size-fits-all fighter", good for the US Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, as well as all interested foreign customers. In an attempt to meet...

Canada may have been the target of a high-pressure sales job to buy the controversial F-35 fighter by a U.S. administration known to use “forceful” diplomacy to cement a deal, leaked diplomatic cables suggest. Memos from the U.S. State Department reveal that Washington engaged in a carefully orchestrated campaign to persuade Norway to buy the American-made fighter jet in 2008. And praising the success of that “extensive, coordinated” effort, U.S. diplomats suggested using a similar game plan to make other foreign sales. Two years later, Canada announced it would buy 65 F-35s at a cost of $9 billion, not including...

The US Department of Defense must reluctantly continue paying General Electric and Rolls-Royce to develop the F136 engine through at least 4 March, says Sen Sherrod Brown of Ohio. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has confirmed, says Brown, that a continuing resolution passed earlier this week by Congress includes funding to keep alive the alternate engine for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme. DOD officials still hope to cancel the F136 to save nearly $2 billion in development costs - a cost thwarted by the engines Congressional allies every year since 2006.

-- Despite rebuffing U.S. calls for a partial settlement freeze on the occupied Palestinian territories, Israel is still hoping to acquire another 20 U.S.-built F-35 fighter jets free of charge. The United States offered Israel a package of incentives last month in a bid to sway Tel Aviv to halt a contentious development project in the West Bank for 90 days. The package included the supply of another 20 radar-evading Joint Strike Fighter jets, estimated at $3 billion. It also included diplomatic promises of blocking any initiative at the U.N. Security Council critical of Israel and the signing of a...

Canada may have been the target of a high-pressure sales job to buy the controversial F-35 fighter by a U.S. administration known to use “forceful” diplomacy to cement a deal, leaked diplomatic cables suggest. Memos from the U.S. State Department reveal that Washington engaged in a carefully orchestrated campaign to persuade Norway to buy the American-made fighter jet in 2008. And praising the success of that “extensive, co-ordinated” effort, U.S. diplomats suggested using a similar game plan to make other foreign sales. Two years later, Canada announced it would buy 65 F-35s at a cost of $9 billion US, not...

So far, the F-22 and F-35 have been developed along parallel paths. Except for one of the F-35's engines, the direct links between Lockheed's two "fifth-generation fighters" are surprisingly thin. It seems both Lockheed Martin and the US Air Force like it that way. If an official -- or even unofficial -- photo exists showing both aircraft together in flight, I've never seen it. The disconnect extends deep beneath the titanium and steel skin. Major subsystems for both aircraft are based on different computing architectures. So improving hardware or software on the F-35 yields no benefit for the F-22, and...

The Pentagon remains willing to slow F-35 Joint Strike Fighter production to shore up problems in the development and testing portion of the single-engine stealthy fighter program, says Ashton Carter, who oversees procurement for the U.S. Defense Department. “Ultimately, a successful [system design and development] program will reduce program costs because we won’t have to go back and retrofit aircraft and we will design in lower cost,” Carter told Aviation Week during a Dec. 21 interview. “If that means waiting a little while— as we have waited—for production aircraft, that is worth the wait.” Despite a 13-month development delay to...