A Debut for Blue Angels’ 1st Female Pilot
The US Navy’s Blue Angels demonstration team has its first female pilot — LT Amanda Lee. LT Lee flew her first public show earlier this month at the Naval Air Facility El Centro Air Show.
Woman Led Most Successful Pirates Ever
Ching Shih was anything but your standard pirate. She was a former sex worker who married into the pirate life and turned out to be really, really good at it.
Reports of Abuse, Neglect Surface at Vets Home
Maryland lawmakers and advocates are concerned about reports of neglect and abuse of residents at the Charlotte Hall Veterans Home, a disclosure that led the state to cancel its contract with HMR Maryland, the company that has managed the facility since 2002.
DoD Sticks With F-35 Current Engine
The Pentagon is abandoning its efforts to develop a next-generation adaptive engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, going instead for an upgrade to the current F-35 engine — a major win for F135 maker Pratt & Whitney.
Lockheed Announces Layoffs at Pax
Lockheed Martin has announced the layoff of 176 workers at its Sikorsky division supporting the heavy lift helicopter program at NAS Patuxent River. The layoffs are effective April 27.
F-35 Production Flight Operations Resume
Lockheed Martin resumed accepting flights of newly built F-35 Joint Strike Fighters early this week, nearly three months after an engine problem grounded new jets and halted deliveries.
Retrofit Ordered for F-35 Fleet Worldwide
The F-35 Joint Program Office has ordered that all F-35 jets should be retrofitted with a fix intended to solve a potential engine vibration problem. This includes a global retrofit, not just for US aircraft.
US, Canada Ban TikTok on Government Devices
The US and Canada have given their agencies a month to clear TikTok from all government devices amid mounting fears of data ending up in the hands of Chinese Communist Party members via the Chinese-owned social media platform.
Probe Finds Pilot Error in F-35C Crash
Naval Air Forces investigators found that pilot error caused an F-35C Lightning II fighter jet to crash onto the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson before sliding into the South China Sea last year. The error “was not conducted in a reckless manner nor with malicious intent,” according to the Naval Air Forces Command.
Japanese Team Finds US WWII Sub
A team of Japanese researchers have located the missing submarine Albacore off Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island. USS Albacore (SS-218) had one of the most successful combat records of all Navy submarines in World War II when it sank near the strait between Hokkaido and Honshu islands, a main shipping channel on Nov. 7, 1944.
