The War Zone med Must Read artikler

 

March 14, 2024

 

The F-35 stealth fighter has finally been cleared for full-rate production, 17 years after the aircraft first took to the air, and almost 23 years after Lockheed Martin won the contract for the Joint Strike Fighter. The decision to move forward, known as Milestone C, is hugely significant for the Joint Strike Fighter program, but it comes at a time in which the U.S. military is not accepting new aircraft, with concerns about the status of the Block 4 upgrades that are seen as a cornerstone of the F-35’s future development potential. You can read all about it here.   Elsewhere, the Air Force wants to cut its purchases of new MH-139A Grey Wolf utility helicopters, which it is buying to replace older UH-1N Twin Hueys, in half. The truncated Grey Wolf fleet is still set to replace the UH-1Ns that help guard America's intercontinental ballistic missile silos, but the future of other Twin Huey-equipped units is now in question. This includes the 1st Helicopter Squadron based just outside Washington, D.C., which sits ready to scoop up key officials and spirit them to safety in the event of a major crisis, among other missions, including daily VIP airlift duties.    Make sure to check out highlights of all our coverage from the last week below. We are also continuing our rolling coverage of the conflict in Ukraine as it develops.    -- Oliver Parken The War Zone   Must Read Articles     How F-35s Deployed To A Narrow Highway In California   The War Zone was on the scene for VMX-1’s exercise Obsidian Iceberg, that served as a glimpse of what’s to come in the Pacific.       Russian Shahed-136 With Camera, Cellular Modem Could Be A Big Problem For Ukraine   Giving Shaheds the ability to provide real-time visual intel deep inside Ukrainian territory would plug a notorious gap for Russian forces.       USAF Seeks NGAD Fighter Boost, Navy F/A-XX Investment Slows In New Budget   The Air Force and Navy appear to have prioritized their next generation fighter programs differently in the Pentagon’s 2025 budget request.       F-15EX Fleet To Be Cut Down To 98 Jets In New Air Force Budget   The USAF is still trying to get a handle on how many F-15EXs it actually wants, but how many it really needs is another question.       Phalanx CIWS Costs $3,500 Per Second In Ammo To Fire   The Navy’s Phalanx Close-In Weapon Systems spit out 75 tungsten-cored rounds every second at $46 a pop, which is still a comparative bargain.       Signs ARRW Hypersonic Missile Follow-On May Be In The Works   The Air Force is set to close out its Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon program this year, but a successor could be on the horizon.       New Images Of China’s J-35 Naval Stealth Fighter, Could Depict Third Example   The images come amid indications that the navalized fighter could operate aboard China’s first two aircraft carriers, as well as its third.       From the Archive     How The Experimental USS Narwhal Ended Up Being The Navy’s Stealthiest Nuclear Submarine   The sub had a range of exotic improvements over previous designs that allowed it to stalk Soviet submarines like no other.       Hot Shots     HMS Prince of Wales leads an international fleet of ships during Exercise Nordic Response 24, March 13, 2024.     A group of Green Berets assigned to 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) return to base after completing their first reconnaissance mission during Cold Weather Training in the mountains of Colorado, January 16, 2024.     U.S. Army soldiers move to their objective in an M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank during Decisive Action Rotation 20-01 at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California, October 4, 2019.