Aircraft - Page 3

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. 

The Defense-Aerospace editorial team has confirmed that Lockheed Martin is pressing ahead with the Hybrid Base Station upgrade for its Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod. The move clears a long-standing barrier that limited how much targeting and sensor data an F-35 could pass

The Pentagon just raised the F-35 bill again. Numbers inside its fresh acquisition report point to $438 billion for development plus production. Last year they put the figure at $412 billion. Now planners must live with extra $26 billion—they said inflation and

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

Pilots walk to their jets before sunrise, climb the ladder, key the INS, and watch the route and target files flow in by Link 16. A typical launch leaves the chocks with the following kit:

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

The B-2 Spirit edges into a new era. Air Force engineers push the bomber toward a fresh role—striking vehicles that refuse to sit still. The project looks dry on paper, yet it shifts how commanders think about fast raids. Crews on the

Lockheed Martin reshaped a small yet vital slice of the F-35 frame. The fresh FS425 bulkhead now backs bigger bombs inside the jet. Crews hope the tweak keeps radar print low while packing harder punch. Work moved quick during late-2023 and spread

The T406 engine reached a solid 500-hour record on one Osprey in mid-August last year. It happened during normal line ops, not a test flight. The count feels modest next to jetliner totals, yet inside tiltrotor work it signals tough stamina. Dust

The Indian Navy has fought hard to keep its carrier aviation alive after retiring the Sea Harrier. MiG-29K fighters now fill that hole on INS Vikramaditya and the soon-to-sail INS Vikrant. Admiral Sunil Lanba told reporters on the eve of Navy Day