F-35 Testing Could be Delayed
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Lt. General Christopher Bogdan, the head of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, warned of the danger of missing deadlines if his test fleet is not flying regularly by the end of September, reports Navy Times. The entire F-35 fleet was placed under restrictions following a June 23 fire that heavily damaged an F-35A. Since then, the test fleet had some restrictions relieved but is still not allowed to operate at full capacity.
Both chambers must pass something for President Obama to sign this month to avoid another government shutdown. Senator Mitch McConnell, (R-Ky.), believes Congress will pass a funding measure the president would not veto, reports DefenseNews. The government will run out of operational funding on September 30. Congress could be gone by then, scheduled to return the second week of November.
Canada is likely to choose between two US firms when it buys a new fleet of jet fighters, excluding two European competitors, reports Reuters. Lockheed’s F-35 stealth fighter and Boeing’s F-18 E/F Super Hornet were judged more suitable for the variety of tasks the military has planned.
DoD acquisition chief, Frank Kendall, will soon review the military services’ budget proposals for fiscal year 2016, and may challenge their funding choices, reports National DEFENSE. Mr. Kendall’s staff compiled a technology wish list with items that should be in the budget but have not yet been funded. He noted that fitting new technology programs into a tight budget will be difficult because any additions must be offset by other cuts. DefSec Chuck Hagel said last week America must be more innovative in how it develops and buys new technologies, according to the AP. The US military’s technological superiority is being challenged by other nations, including China and Russia. Unsophisticated forces and terrorist groups are also acquiring destructive weapons and unless the US takes these challenges seriously, Mr. Hagel said, American troops could face advanced weapons and technologies on the battlefield that will put their lives at risk.
One of NAVAIR’s senior flight test engineers will receive a Women in Aerospace’s (WIA) award in October for her outstanding contributions to the aerospace community, according to NAVAIR News. Samantha Pappas, air vehicle test lead for the Triton Unmanned Air System program, is the 2014 recipient of WIA’s Initiative, Inspiration, Impact award for “being an impeccable leader, inspiring mentor, and exceptional engineer whose technical expertise and unwavering dedication were paramount to the advancement of Naval Aviation.”
Pentagon R&D chief, Alan Shaffer said, “We have lost the electromagnetic spectrum,” reports Breaking Defense. “That’s a huge deal when you think about fielding advanced systems that can be [countered] by a very, very cheap digital jammer.” For example, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has much-touted information technology built-in but, “if we don’t really pay attention to the EM spectrum, it is not a good news story for the F-35.”
Twelve NAVAIR logistics specialist interns joined the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt’s crew for a week reports NAVAIR News. The Naval Acquisition Development Program (NADP) interns, who work at various NAVAIR locations providing equipment and other logistics, sailed on the ship to gather information on how logistics works on an aircraft carrier while at sea.
