News

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter completed "leak-free" fuel-system checkout testing achieving another major success milestone on the fighter program. Engineers and technicians have concluded, on schedule, an extensive fuel-system checkout on the first JSF and are making final preparations for a series of structural tests on the aircraft planned to begin today.

Keeping the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program on track is important because the Air Force needs to replace aging aircraft and it is an important complement to the F-22A Raptor aircraft.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended slowing funding for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter due to "signifigant developmental risk" and the likelyhood of cost and scheduling overruns.

The U.S. Senate is scheduled to hold hearings this week concerning the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's engine suppliers - namely whether two suppliers are needed for the project.

Defense technology firm VSI, the American subsidiary of Israel's Elbit Systems, has been contracted by the Lockheed Martin for new battle helmets (HMDs) for F-35 jets

The first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter completed assembly and was ceremoniously turned over to the flight line in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, on schedule, Feb. 19. This represents the next stage of development and the very first completed aircraft. Ground tests will now begin in preparation for first flight later this year.

Lockheed Martin has awarded Cytec Engineered Materials a contract worth up to $750 million to supply advanced materials to be used in the construction of the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter through 2013.

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter team has completed assembly of the first F-35 jet and moved it out of the factory in preparation for an intensive period of ground testing. First flight of the F-35, a conventional takeoff and landing version, remains on schedule for this fall.

Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to define their future collaboration on the F135 propulsion system for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).

The Joint Strike Fighter Integrated Test Force will pull an F-16 out of a special hangar Saturday, marking the culmination of a series of unique tests at Edwards AFB.

While waiting on the delivery of a wiring harness necessary for full integration of the Pratt & Whitney F-135 engine, Lockheed Martin conducted a successful engine fit check on the floor of its Ft. Worth, TX assembly plant earlier this month.

In the federal budget proposal recently sent to the U.S. Congress, President George W. Bush has apparently decided to cancel a multi-billion dollar contract with General Electric and Rolls-Royce to develop and manufacture a second engine for the Lockheed F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

BAE Systems has begun production of the first U.K. components for the first F-35B Joint Strike Fighter. The F-35B is the Short TakeOff Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant of the F-35 family.

The U.S. Navy has dedicated a $24 million facility at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., for testing of the Navy and Marine Corps' newest jets: the Lockheed Martin F-35B and F-35C Joint Strike Fighter.

Joint Strike Fighter chief test pilot Jon Beesley gave a progress report on the development of the F-35 to the Naval Aviation Foundation Association of Naval Aviation Pax River Squadron Dec. 9, in the Cedar Point Officers' Club.