Collins Aerospace, a Raytheon Technologies business, has opened its first in-region facility for preparing F-35 aircraft pilots outside the U.S. to support the Royal Netherlands Air Force and international clients. The F-35 Pilot Readiness Center at RNLAF’s Center for Man in Aviation in Soesterberg, The Netherlands, will provide Dutch airmen with helmet fitting, calibration, training […] More

The U.S. Air Force has begun using Boeing-made KC-46 Pegasus aircraft to conduct air refueling missions in support of F-35 Lightning II jets, expanding the tanker’s role in the military, Government Executive reported Thursday. Pease Air National Guard Base in New Hampshire deployed KC-46 units to refuel F-35s of Vermont ANG. Col. Nelson Perron, the […] More

Lockheed Martin-built F-35 Lightning II aircraft from across the globe have collectively flown for 400,000 hours of operational, training and developmental activities. Combat-assigned and operational F-35 units recorded 165,000 flight hours or approximately 41 percent of the total figure,  the company’s F-35 program said Thursday. The combined flight hours ran across 235,329 sorties of 224 […] More

BAE Systems‘ U.S. subsidiary will deliver Lot 16 electronic warfare systems and associated items for Lockheed Martin‘s F-35 Lightning II aircraft production. The company said Monday BAE Systems Inc. will provide full units, retrofit kits and spare parts of the AN/ASQ-239 EW system, which offers both electronic attack and defense features to support the fighter […] More

Bridget Lauderdale, vice president and general manager of the F-35 program at Lockheed Martin, said the company is seeing the recovery of the F-35 fighter jet supply chain after a year of factory closures and delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Defense One reported Thursday. “We’re seeing the return of a good portion of the […] More

General Dynamics‘ mission systems business has completed the delivery of the 500th radome for fifth-generation aircraft radar antenna protection to F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin. The two companies originally developed wideband nose radomes in a joint effort to protect active electronically scanned array radars on domestic and foreign military F-35 jets, General Dynamics Mission Systems […] More

U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Eric Fick, head of the F-35 joint program office, said fighter aircraft technicians use automated software testing and joint simulation approaches as part of cost reduction measures. He told attendees at a recent McAleese & Associates event that military branches seek to drive down not only the program's flight costs but also maintenance and repair expenses.

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Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works subsidiary demonstrated communications between six fifth-generation fighter jet and one reconnaissance aircraft during a test with the U.S. Air Force and the Missile Defense Agency. The flight test titled Project Hydra had five F-35s, one U-2 and and one F-22 aircraft link with each other to share data and build real time situational awareness for ground-based operators, the company said Monday.

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Greg Ulmer, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin’s aeronautics business, has said the U.S. Air Force could release a solicitation for logistics and sustainment support for F-35 aircraft this spring, Inside Defense reported Friday.

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Lockheed Martin has ordered more than 150 training subsystems for the F-35 Lightning II Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation system from Cubic's mission and performance solutions business under a $32 million contract between the two companies.

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The U.S. Navy has awarded Raytheon Technologies a $49.2 million contract modification to provide F135 turbofan engines to support testing of an F-35 Lightning II aircraft iteration for the Department of Defense and non-DOD participants.

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Northrop Grumman has been awarded a contract from Lockheed Martin to enable new functionality that supports the 5th Generation F-35 Lightning II multi-role fighter. BAE Systems is also part of the collaborative agreement. Northrop, Lockheed and BAE will equip the fighter jet with Northrop’s AN/ASQ-242 Integrated Communications, Navigation and Identification (ICNI) and BAE’s AN/ASQ-239 Electronic Warfare/Countermeasures (EW/CM) system to deliver optimal operational utility.

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