Dan Taylor

Archived Articles
The Insider | March 17, 2010

The first full vertical landing of the Marine Corps' F-35 Joint Strike Fighter short-take-off, vertical-landing (STOVL) test aircraft, BF-1, is expected to be conducted tomorrow if weather cooperates, according to a source familiar with the program.

Daily News | March 12, 2010

The Navy announced today that it has grounded 104 F/A-18A-D Hornets after cracking was discovered in the air frames by the Service Life Assessment Program, which is determining what it would take to extend the lives of Hornets to mitigate a strike fighter shortfall for the Navy in the next decade.

Daily News | March 11, 2010

The Pentagon's top weapons buyer told a Senate panel today the Air Force and Navy variants of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will not reach the fleet until 2016, a two-year delay for the Navy and a three-year difference from the time line the air service was planning on just months ago.

Daily News | March 4, 2010

Lockheed Martin is standing by its F-35 program manager and the company has a chance to earn back some of the $614 million the Pentagon is withholding from the contractor as the program strives to control the cost of U.S. and international Joint Strike Fighters.

The Insider | March 4, 2010

Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman have been awarded contracts worth $15 million and $17.4 million, respectively, for the development of the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) shipboard network, according to a Defense Department announcement today.

Daily News | February 25, 2010

The Navy is projecting a peak department-wide strike fighter shortfall of 100 aircraft, a lower figure than earlier estimates due to mitigation measures such as the purchase of more Super Hornets and the use of attrition aircraft, but service officials noted the number is "fluid" and could change.

Daily News | February 22, 2010

Reliability improvements to the CH-53 heavy-lift helicopter, the purchase of a KC-130J tanker aircraft and procurement of various ground vehicles top the Marine Corps' fiscal year 2011 list of unfunded priorities.

Daily News | February 2, 2010

The Navy is projecting a drop of about $2 billion in fighter aircraft investment between fiscal years 2013 and 2014, as well as an overall 10 percent decline over the next 10 years, as the service transitions from the F/A-18 to the Joint Strike Fighter, according to the Pentagon's 30-year aviation outlook, obtained today by Inside the Navy.

Daily News | February 2, 2010

Lockheed Martin is shooting for a flight in full vertical mode for the Marine Corps F-35 Joint Strike Fighter short-take-off, vertical-landing test aircraft by the end of this month, company officials told reporters today.

Daily News | January 25, 2010

The Navy is doing everything it can to reduce the cradle-to-grave costs of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the service's top weapons buyer said in a statement today.

Daily News | January 21, 2010

The Navy has sidelined two LPD-17 amphibious assault ships after finding engine contaminants, the service said today, while a separate welding problem is prompting the sea service to evaluate all ships built by Northrop Grumman in the past two years, including DDG-51 destroyers and the amphibious assault ship Makin Island (LHD-8).

Daily News | January 7, 2010

After months of anticipation and setbacks, the Marine Corps' short-take-off, vertical-landing (STOVL) variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter flew today while engaging the aircraft's lift fan for the first time, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

Daily News | December 30, 2009

Two months after a report on the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye maritime surveillance aircraft's new radar expressed concern about unresolved performance problems, the commander of Naval Air Systems Command said the radar is actually ahead of schedule thanks to a "rigorous" design review.

The Insider | December 16, 2009

Lawmakers and senior Pentagon officials were tight-lipped this afternoon after a closed-door Senate Armed Services Committee meeting to discuss the fiscal health of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.

Daily News | November 24, 2009

The first flight of the Northrop Grumman-built X-47B unmanned combat air system demonstrator (UCAS-D) has been delayed until early next year because the aircraft has not met key performance levels, Naval Air Systems Command announced today.

Daily News | November 4, 2009

The Joint Strike Fighter program office expects in December to conduct the first vertical-lift flight of the BF-1, the Marine Corps' short-take-off, vertical-landing (STOVL) F-35 variant test aircraft.

Daily News | October 14, 2009

The Navy has put in place a sweeping five-point energy plan it intends to carry out over the next decade that would result in the deployment of a "green" strike group and a massive increase in the use of alternative energy throughout the fleet, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced today.

Daily News | September 30, 2009

LIMA, OH -- The Marine Corps is aggressively fighting proposed congressional funding cuts to the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle program and the service is prepared to reprogram money to fund the program if necessary, Commandant Gen.

Daily News | August 28, 2009

The Navy is delaying the release of the draft environmental impact statement for a controversial East Coast outlying landing field (OLD), which would be used to practice night landings on aircraft carriers, the Defense Department announced today.

Daily News | August 25, 2009

The first flight in full vertical lift mode of the Marine Corps' short-take-off, vertical-landing (STOVL) variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter may be delayed as late as October, which would be another one-month delay in the schedule, according to a source familiar with the JSF program.

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