Australia’s risk assessment review of its acquisition of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) for the RAAF is underway, Defence has confirmed, after Lockheed Martin revealed last week a team from the Department of Defence was visiting its Fort Worth plant. “A Scheduled Compliance Risk Assessment Method (SCRAM) team is here in response to the
Airbus Military says its A400M airlifter has completed water ingestion trials that saw the aircraft successfully demonstrate its ability to operate on wet runways and taxiways without ingesting water into its engines. “During the tests at Istres, France the aircraft travelled through troughs containing 2-6cm of water at speeds up to 90kt in takeoff and
The first two of 24 Sikorsky-Lockheed Martin MH-60R naval helicopters being acquired for the Royal Australian Navy under Air 9000 Phase 8 could be delivered as early as December 2013, according to Lockheed Martin. Under Air 9000 Phase 8 the RAN requires delivery of its first MH-60R ‘Romeos’ from mid 2014, but Australia has requested
Lockheed Martin is preparing for the deployment of two unmanned Kaman K-Max helicopters to Afghanistan this month to begin operating a six month trial resupplying US Marine Corps forward operating bases there. The contract was awarded earlier this month to Lockheed Martin ahead of Boeing’s competing Hummingbird unmanned helicopter, after a five day evaluation of
Two F-35B JSFs completed an 18 day sea trials period aboard the USS Wasp on October 21, the first time the F-35 has operated from a ship. The trials, which comprised a total of 72 vertical landings and 72 short takeoffs under various but generally benign conditions, saw the two jets – BF-2 and BF-4
USAF Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptors based at JB Langley-Eustis in Virginia and JB Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska have been cleared to return to the air after a four day grounding. The aircraft were grounded on October 21 after a pilot experienced hypoxia-like symptoms on a recent flight. The issue is the same as that which forced
