It’s official: The F-35 will not get a new engine anytime soon
After rancorous debate, a new engine for the stealth fighter was already in doubt, but legislation released by congressional appropriators today seemingly puts the issue to rest.
Navy delaying next-gen F/A-XX fighter spending for near-term investments
The combination of delaying F/A-XX development and shutting down F/A-18 production may not go well for Navy leadership when they testify to lawmakers.
Air Force wants to retire 250 aircraft as part of $188B FY25 budget request
“We're very, very fixated on being competitive with the pacing challenge [of China],” said Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall. “I think the budget that we've submitted moves us forward — not quite as fast as we would like to, but it moves us forward in the right direction while maintaining current capabilities that are essential to the nation.”
F-22s ‘highest priority’ for near-term fight, Air Force acquisition boss says
Despite disagreements with Boeing on pricing for the E-7A Wedgetail, Air Force acquisition chief Andrew Hunter said officials still see the radar plane "as a capability that makes sense and that we need to field in the near term.”
Pratt & Whitney targets 2029 for upgraded F-35 engine deliveries
“Like all programs, the continuing resolution has the potential to have an impact. We have not worked through all the details if we had a sequestration scenario,” Pratt & Whitney's Jennifer Latka said about a stalled budget on Capitol Hill. “What I know now is that our schedule is on track, that we have identified funding to continue, and that’s not to say that that situation cannot change.”
New planes, budget constraints and great power competition: 2024 air preview
The Air Force has big plans for 2024, but lawmakers could throw a wrench into them.
UK, Italy, Japan ink GCAP stealth fighter treaty, reveal new program details
The joint effort to get a sixth-gen stealth fighter in the air by 2035 is to be headquartered in the UK, while a Japanese official will be the first program leader.
Boeing’s multibillion dollar bet: Invest in new facilities now for defense payoff in future
“It's hard to make large capital investments when your business is not as healthy as it could be or you want it to be,” said Boeing's Steve Nordlund. “But that's the time that you also have to make those hard decisions, so you come out on the other side much stronger.”
3 US aerospace primes actively facing off for Navy’s next-gen strike fighter, F/A-XX
The Navy confirms Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman are officially vying for the right to build its next-gen fighter.
Northrop not competing for NGAD sixth-gen fighter: CEO
Northrop CEO Kathy Warden did not rule out working on the Air Force's NGAD as a secondary partner, and indicated the company is still interested in the Navy's next-gen fighter.
Air Force’s Kendall says servicemembers held ‘hostage’ by Tuberville confirmation blockade
Beyond politics, the Air Force Secretary weighed in on key items in the defense budget, citing concerns about potential cuts to NGAD funding and unnecessary bumps to an alternate F-35 engine.
UK official sees ‘unique’ partnership chances for next-gen fighter
“I think it’s a richness of our collective response that we are able to develop what might appear on the surface to be competitive solutions, whether that’s F-35, NGAD, the Franco German cooperation, or our program," said Richard Berthon, the UK Ministry of Defence’s Director of Future Combat Air.
Turbine ‘fatigue’ issue forced F-22 engine retrofit, Air Force says
The Air Force worked with engine-maker Pratt & Whitney to fix the planes in the field and during regular maintenance over three years.
Pratt blasts Lockheed’s ‘confusing and misleading’ adaptive engine advocacy (Exclusive)
In a high-profile public spat with little precedence between the airframe and engine giants, Pratt & Whitney executives are formally accusing Lockheed Martin of prioritizing its own bottom line by seeking an adaptive engine solution for the Joint Strike Fighter.
Why Wittman wants to save AETP engine while slowing next-gen fighter funding
In an interview with Breaking Defense, chairman of the House Armed Services Tactical Air and Land Forces subcommittee Rep. Rob Wittman explains the committee’s thinking behind keeping AETP going, as well as the reason for slashing funds from NGAD.