F-35 Fleet Temporarily Grounded, Inspections Ordered

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An entire fleet of 104 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters was temporarily grounded by the Pentagon over the weekend. Mandatory inspections of all F-35 fighter jets have been ordered before further flights after a Marine Corps F-35B model suffered an in-flight emergency on June 10, reports Reuters. The inspections are focused on the oil flow management valve fitting on all Pratt & Whitney F135 engines. A spokesman for the F-35 program office said the inspections had been ordered on Friday but that a large number of planes had already been inspected and cleared to resume flights on Monday.

Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work launched a major “technology offset” R&D initiative to encourage the defense industry to invest in technology the Pentagon believes will give it a battlefield edge, according to DefenseNews. Mr. Work wants to ensure that the US military maintains a strategic advantage even as the defense budget contracts. He also wants the DoD to gain a greater understanding of the capabilities possessed by potential adversaries.  Two major technology offsets have allowed the US to remain an uncontested superpower since World War II, Work said: the development of nuclear weapons and networked, precision-guided munitions

Navy test pilots are performing numerous shore-based test landings of the F-35C at NAS Patuxent River in anticipation of its first at-sea landing on an aircraft carrier later this year, reports DoD Buzz. The shore landings are designed to replicate the range of conditions which the F-35C next-generation Joint Strike Fighter is likely to encounter at sea. Test pilots are working on what they call a structural survey, an effort to assess the F-35C’s ability to land in a wide range of scenarios such as nose down, tail down or max engaging speed.

The Navy and Boeing will have to create a new plan to continue producing the EA-18G Growler if Congress does not provide enough money to buy more of the airborne electronic attack aircraft, reports USNI News. Boeing officials said previously that the company needs orders for about 22 Growlers to keep the production line going at a minimal efficient rate. Last week, the House Appropriations Committee approved a version of the FY2015 appropriations bill that allocated $1.01 billion for 12 of the 22 Growlers the Navy included in its unfunded requirements list. Sean Stackley, assistant secretary of the Navy, said Friday, “We have the AP [advanced procurement] in hand and we’ll sit down with Boeing. What we’re not going to do is incur additional cost to stretch these out artificially, but if we can, efficiently attach [these] to the existing contracts. That would be in our best interest.”

Veteran Affairs (VA) whistleblowers will not face harassment or punishment for reporting misbehavior in the department, Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson promised, according to the Military Times. “I want to make clear that intimidation or retaliation against whistleblowers — or any employee who raises a hand to identify a legitimate problem, make a suggestion, or report what may be a violation of law, policy, or our core values — is absolutely unacceptable,” he said. Mr. Gibson promised disciplinary action against any employees seeking to punish whistleblowers, saying those voices are needed to help improve department practices.

Navy Cmdr. Jennifer Eaton shares her concerns with PilotOnline.com regarding retention of women in the service. As the executive officer of the Norfolk-based USS Barry, she is the only female senior officer on her ship, which also has no senior enlisted women. The Navy long ago integrated women into its ranks but retaining them has proved challenging. Overall, women make up 19 percent of the Navy but only 11 percent of senior enlisted ranks. Women rise to senior enlisted or officer ranks at half the rate of men.

The Motley Fool takes a look at the 10 most popular fighter jets in the world via a slide show presentation. Depending on a country’s specific requirements, buyers select different warplanes and pay for them at various price points.

A new drama from TNT called “The Last Ship” premiering June 22 explores the premise of a US Navy ship confronting a world that has sunk into chaos because of a virus that has killed or sickened 80 percent of the planet’s population. The Navy Times says the fictional destroyer, USS Nathan James, restores communications with the Pentagon four months into a deployment and discovers the world is in a death spiral.

Northrop Grumman System Corp., San Diego, California, is being awarded a $61,326,794 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00019-12-C-0117) for operations and maintenance services in support of the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance – Demonstrator (BAMS-D) Unmanned Aircraft System. This effort will provide logistics support; organization, intermediate, and depot (D) -level maintenance; and field service representatives, to ensure that the BAMS-D aircraft are mission-capable for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland (70 percent); outside continental United States (25 percent); and Rancho Bernardo, California (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in June 2015. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $61,326,794 are being obligated on this award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Vista Research, Inc., Arlington, Virginia, is being awarded an $8,381,917 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the upgrade and replacement of fielded Wide Area Surveillance Vista Radars and Processor Systems in support of the U.S. Army’s Persistent Ground Surveillance Systems Program. Work will be performed in Afghanistan (50 percent); Patuxent River, Maryland (20 percent); Yuma, Arizona (10 percent); Point Mugu, California (10 percent); and Elizabeth City, North Carolina (10 percent); work is expected to be completed in December 2014. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $8,381,917 are being obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1). The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (N68335-14-C-0176).