The INSIDER daily digest -- Sept. 12, 2022

By John Liang / September 12, 2022 at 1:32 PM

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Air Force's work to fix an engine problem with the F-22 Raptor fighter, the Pentagon's inflation relief efforts and more.

An engine problem with the Air Force's F-22 Raptor fighter has racked up nearly $23 million in damages for the service stemming from seven Class A mishaps -- the Defense Department's most serious accident classification -- that spanned nearly a decade and prompted a retrofit effort beginning in 2019 that is slated to finish next year:

Undisclosed F-22 engine trouble prompted ongoing fleetwide hardware fix

The Air Force has been quietly carrying out a fleetwide hardware fix for the F-22 Raptor after the aircraft logged several incidents due to a significant problem with the fighter's dual F119 engines, Inside Defense has learned.

John Tenaglia, principal director of defense pricing and contracting, late last week issued a memo on inflation:

DOD sees potential inflation relief for contractors under 'extraordinary circumstances'

The Defense Department is open to considering inflation relief for defense contractors working under firm, fixed-price contracts in "extraordinary circumstances," according to a new guidance memo released by the Pentagon pricing chief.

Document: DOD memo on inflation

An upcoming meeting of national armaments directors will allow officials to "compare notes" on several key areas, including how to best ramp up production of weapons deemed most necessary to help Ukraine defend itself against an ongoing Russian military invasion:

LaPlante to chair senior weapons chief meeting in Brussels

Pentagon acquisition chief Bill LaPlante will be in Brussels on Sept. 28 to chair a multinational meeting of dozens of national armaments directors seeking to support sustained military aid to Ukraine, as well as increased weapon system compatibility.

A long-standing plan to buy 1,763 conventional-takeoff-and-landing F-35 Joint Strike Fighter variants could be adjusted downward:

DOD may trim total size of planned F-35 fleet to finance new modernization initiative

The Defense Department, which for 20 years has treated the acquisition objective for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as sacrosanct, is now contemplating curtailing future purchases to offset new fleet modernization initiatives, possibly signaling a new era where program cost growth will be borne by the project instead of budget topline increases.

A new report on Ligado Networks' 5G wireless network is out:

Ligado network could interfere with DOD and commercial systems, NAS report says

A review by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine of the 5G wireless network soon to be deployed by satellite company Ligado Networks found that the portion of the radio frequency spectrum the company is set to operate in could interfere with some commercial and Defense Department systems, according to a report released by NAS.

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