Lockheed Martin announced on 30 December, that it had delivered its 134th F-35 for the year, exceeding the original delivery goal of 131 aircraft. The 134th F-35 is an F-35B… Continue reading "Lockheed Martin Surpasses 2019 F-35 Delivery Goals"
On December 17, the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) declared that its F-35A fleet had reached initial operating capacity. The declaration was made during a ceremony at Cheongju Air… Continue reading "South Korea Declares F-35 Initial Operating Capacity"
Seven Royal Australian Air Force F-35As landed at RAAF Williamtown on 11 December. Three of the F-35As were in No. 2 Operational Conversion Unit markings, with the remaining four being… Continue reading "RAAF Williamtown F-35 Capabilities Grow"
For the first time, an F-35A stealth fighter jet successfully requested support from an artillery unit belonging to the US Army’s 1st Armored Division. The request was for fire support… Continue reading "F-35A Crosses New Integration Milestone, Requests Ground Unit Support"
Aircraft carrier Future USS Kennedy was launched into the James River from Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Newport News Shipyard on the 16th of December. The ship codenamed CVN-79 was towed… Continue reading "Future USS Kennedy Aircraft Carrier Launched"
Japan has reversed course on its decision to cease local assembly of its F-35 fighters, according to Nikkei. The Japanese government had previously decided to cease local assembly of F-35s… Continue reading "Japan Considering Continuing Local F-35 Assembly"
On 23 November, 3 F-35Bs of the Royal Air Force’s 617 and 207 Squadrons departed HMS Queen Elizabeth for RAF Marham in Norfolk. Their departure marks the conclusion of the… Continue reading "RAF F-35Bs Conclude WESTLANT 19 Operational Tests"
Lockheed’s Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) remains a bottleneck for the F-35 program, according to testimonies made to the House Armed Services readiness and tactical air and land forces subcommittees… Continue reading "ALIS Continues to Hold F-35 Program Back"
The Pentagon’s F-35 Program Executive, Lieutenant General Eric Fick, testified on the 13th November, in front of US Congress. In his testimony, he affirmed efforts to procure alternative suppliers to… Continue reading "F-35 Program Executive: Turkey Will Be Phased out by March 2020"
On 31 October, the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) received its first Netherlands-based F-35A at Leeuwarden Air Base. The F-35A, tail number F-009, landed at 1530 local time after performing… Continue reading "Royal Netherlands Air Force Receives First Netherlands-Based F-35"