Giovanni de Briganti, Author at DEFENSE-AEROSPACE

Giovanni de Briganti

Editor of Defense-Aerospace.com, a news aggregator covering all aspects of the aerospace and defense industries, principally focused on primary sources (governments, industry, international organizations, think tanks, etc) and selected international media as well as original opinion and analysis articles.

Aircraft

The F-35: Even the Engine Is Compromised (excerpt)

The F-35 promised reach without rival, yet its heart - Pratt & Whitney’s F135 - burns fuel like an older design. Thrust-specific fuel consumption (TSFC) shows why. The F100-PW-229 that powers late-model F-15s and F-16s clocks 0.726 lb/hr/lb. The F135 sits at

July 2, 2017

Missiles / Drones / Directed Energy

Ahead of Modi Visit, US Approves Sale of 22 Guardian Drones to India

The United States has cleared the sale of twenty-two MQ-9B Guardian unmanned aircraft to India, opening a path for New Delhi to field its first long-endurance maritime surveillance fleet just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets President Donald Trump. U.S. officials

June 23, 2017

Missiles / Drones / Directed Energy

Successful Flight Testing of ISRO’s Scramjet Engine Technology Demonstrator

The Indian Space Research Organisation marked a decisive step toward air-breathing launch systems with the first flight of its Scramjet Engine Technology Demonstrator from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, at 06:00 IST on 28 August 2016. A twelve-hour countdown ended with a

August 28, 2016

Aircraft

Lockheed’s F-35 Still Falls Short, Pentagon’s Chief Tester Says

Lockheed Martin’s F-35 is America’s most expensive weapons project. After fifteen years in development, the jet is still not ready for the fight the services expect. A confidential memorandum dated Aug 9 from Dr. Michael Gilmore, the Defense Department’s Director of Operational

August 24, 2016

Aircraft

Weapons Tester Cites Further F-35 Challenges (excerpt)

The Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation has sent fresh shockwaves through the F-35 community. His memo to senior leaders says the Joint Strike Fighter remains far from its promised combat edge even though the U.S. Air Force just marked the

August 23, 2016

Digital Systems & Software

US Software Stranglehold Threatens F-35 Foreign Operations

The F-35 is entirely dependent on the ALIS system for its maintenance, and on US-based software laboratories for its mission data loads, so that its operation requires secure and high-speed Internet links between its operating bases and the US. (USAF photo)

November 4, 2015

Aircraft

F-35 Engine Unit Costs Continue to Grow Even As Production Increases

Early F-135 advocates promised a smooth learning curve. They said each production lot would cost less than the one before. Fresh data show the opposite. Unit prices still hover near $30 million, even though annual output has more than doubled since 2011.

April 28, 2015

Aircraft

USAF Plans for Radical F-35 Upgrade Reveal Obsolescence

Foreign air forces that bought the F-35A woke up this week to a blunt statement from Major Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, the U.S. Air Force officer who runs the program. He told Reuters on April 7 that engineers had started scoping a new

April 8, 2015

Aircraft

F-35 Program Massages Flight Test Results

The latest annual report from the Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E) states that the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) claimed improved reliability by adjusting the way it records equipment failures rather than by delivering technical corrections.

January 19, 2015

Electronic Warfare

F-35 Report: Overview of Problems with F-135 Engine

KESTEREN, Netherlands --- Last week’s grounding of the F-35 fleet puts the Pratt & Whitney F-135 engine back in the public spotlights, just one week before the planned international debut of the F-35B at the RIAT 2014 and Farnborough Airshows.

July 9, 2014

Giovanni de Briganti

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