Stealth Saga #55

6th Generation Fighter:

The USAF thinks it has a 5 year window to reinvent the fighter industry in the US.

The FCAS team reports good progress on the concept study phase.  They will be defining the requirements before the demos start.

LOUT:

Airbus unveiled its stealthy UAV test article paid for by Germany.

XQ-58A Valkyrie:

The USAF is testing the Valkyrie as a comm link between the F-22 and F-35.

Loyal Wingman:

Australia's Loyal Wingman program has surrogate UAVs flying.

KFX:

South Korea's KF-X will use the meteor missile.

Su-57:

The Su-57 has been given the awesome NATO code name of 'Felon.'

And there are some stunning photos from MAKS'19.

The first production Su-57 is supposedly ready to deliver to the Russian aerospace forces and supposedly will be delivered before the end of the year.

Russia will not sell the Su-57 to Turkey until demand from the Russian aerospace forces is met.

Russia claims the UAE may help produce the SU-57.

B-21:

Even on schedule, the B-21 is under pressure.

A report to congress on the B-21.

B-2:

China has been testing a wind tunnel model of the B-2.

F-117:

The Reagan Library is getting an F-117 for display.  Here are some pictures and videos of its preparation for display.  And more pix.

F-117s continue to fly over Nevada.

F-35:

Congress is cooling to the idea of multi year production contracts for the F-35.

The Pentagon has made an agreement with Lockheed for Lots 12, 13 and 14 for the F-35 that puts the price for the F-35A lower than $80M each.

The Pentagon is in a bun fight with Lockheed over ALIS, the logistics system.  The bun fight is a legacy of how the contract was awarded,

The Pentagon has found replacement manufacturers for all but a dozen parts as part of removing Turkey from the F-35 program.

The recent problems with the F-35 have been tied to the scaling up of production.

F-35 readiness has increased to 75%.

F-35s can now talk to F-22s.

The USAF 4th Fighter Squadron returned home after combat deployment.

F-35As were flying with MQ-9 Reapers near Area 51.

Two USAF pilots were the first to fly the USMC's F-35B operationally on the USS America.

More on the USMC's test of the Lightning Carrier concept on the USS America.

USMC F-35Bs returning from Afghanistan have interesting bomb markings.

The USS America is steaming to its new homeport in Japan.

Brits were qualing their F-35Bs for night ops on the HMS Queen Elizabeth.

The Brits are planning on integrating their new carriers into US Navy carrier ops.

Israeli F-35Is will be participating in Exercise Blue Flag and have.

Japan has ordered more JSM for its F-35s.

Japan is being pitched the next gen amphibious ship, which may carry F-35s.

Netherlands greeted their first F-35A to be based in their country with an accidental foam bath.

Norway declared IOC for its F-35As.

The first sale of the F-35 tot he UAE could be a long way off.

Lockheed won a $25M contract for a new GPS for the F-35.

Lockheed also won a $114M contract for durability testing on the F-35B.

Lockheed won a $184.6 M contract mod for depot work for the F-35.

Lockheed foresees potential sales in Portugal and Spain of the F-35.

Raytheon's JSOW is getting certified for the F-35.

META:

The F-35 and B-21 buys must continue, but where's the money, some ask.

Stealth Saga #53

RQ-180:

Aviation Week has a surprisingly detailed article about the RQ-180.  This is the unmanned aircraft which may have been spotted last August.

6th Generation Fighters:

The USAF's NGAD has been redirected to promote the 'Digital Industrial Revolution' for manufacturing.

The USAF's NGAD has a PEO and has set up the program office in general.

The USAF's advanced engine plans have hit a funding snag.

The RAF's chief of staff has endorsed the American 'Digital Century series' fighter program.

The FCAS companies are urging their governments to move forward with the program.

France and German signed a deal regarding weapon exports.  The FCAS is probably one of the weapons covered.

KF-X:

The Korean led stealth fighter program will roll out its first prototype in the first half of 2021.

South Korea unveiled a mockup of the aircraft.

South Korea also showed off a mockup of the cockpit.

South Korea has stated it is open to foreign partners in the KF-X.

The whole program may be at risk though.

South Korea has started construction of the aircraft.

Su-57:

Russia has started MUM-T testing between the Ohotnik-B UAV and the Su-57:

Chinese Stealth Carrier-borne UAV:

China's reported plan to put a ISR drone on its carriers makes sense to some.

China's Sharp Sword carrier based UAV is claimed to be entering service by the end of the year.  It may be the aircraft may NOT be carrier based, but in service already.  It did get displayed at the October 1st military parade.

J-20:

The J-20 at a high AOA.

B-21:

The USAF has reactivated the 420th Bomber Wing for B-21 testing.

The B-21 first flight could be delayed.

Some are questioning whether or not the schedule for the B-21 can be kept.

First public flight is still aimed for Dec 2021.

B-2:

The USAF tweeted a photo of the B-2 stating it would be the last thing Area 51 Raiders would see if they had actually tried.  The USAF later apologized.

F-117:  

Who is flying the 'retired' F-117s?

F-35:

The F-35 is closer to IBCS integration.

The full rate production decision for the F-35 has been delayed by 13 months.

A USAF student pilot apparently saved a F-35A when the computer crashed in flight.

The official welcome ceremony was held for the 158th FW's first F-35A.

At least 13 F-35Bs embarked on the USS America to test the 'Lightning Carrier' concept.

A F-35 did some very impressive demo flying over San Francisco.

Australia is looking for a larger piece of the F-35 manufacturing pie.

British F-35Bs are off to operational carrier testing.  One was photographed in 'Beast Mode.'

Italy has deployed its F-35s to Iceland.  Take an up close and personal look.  They have completed their mission.

The Japanese will get their first aircraft carriers in 75 years, but the USMC will fly their F-35Bs off them first.

Netherlands will order 9 more F-35s.

Norway is having problems with the drag chute on its F-35As.

Poland has placed the F-35 front and center in its air force modernization plans.

South Korea showed off its F-35As to the public.

South Korea will also order 20 more F-35As.

South Korea awarded a contract for the design of a ship that can carry F-35Bs.

Lockheed has declared the F-35's stealth coating rock solid.

The offset projects promised by Lockheed for South Korea are progressing.

United Technologies won a $325.2M contract to support the F-35.

META:

Claims about passive radar are a bit overblown.

Stealth Saga #43

Sixth Generation Fighters:

The USAF's 6th gen PCA may cost $300M each or so thinks the CBO.  Some think that is unaffordable.

The USAF AWFICS has been considering the 6th gen.

Has the USAF started prototyping its 6th gen PCA fighter?

Germany and France are inviting Spain to be a full partner in the FCAS.

Japan is feeling its way forward with the F-3 program despite ordering more F-35s.

KF-X:

Indonesia has resumed making payments for the KF-X/IF-X fighter program.

Neuron UCAV:

The Spanish Eurofighters conducted tests with the French Neuron UCAV demonstrator.

Su-57:

The Su-57 is supposedly going to be equipped with a hypersonic attack missile.  This won't help the aircraft.

The Russians have also updated the stealth coating on the Su-57.

PAK-DA:

Russia is reminding everyone they are working on the PAK-DA bomber.

Sky Hawk UCAV:

China has flown its Sky Hawk UCAV demonstrator and it has been upgraded for potential aircraft carrier use.

The Sky Hawk may also have Have Raider/Loyal Wingman esque capabilities.

J-31/FC-31:

Speculation resurfaces China is building a carrier based variant of the J-31/FC-31.

J-20:

A fake J-20 showed up at Savannah, Georgia.  It turns out to have been a mockup for OPFOR training paid for by the USMC.

USAFA Target Drone:

The USAFA is building the first stealthy target drone for the USAF.

Stealth Special Ops Transports:

The Warzone has a two part article on the multi decade quest for stealthy special ops transports for the US.

They also discuss the origins of the StealthHawk helicopter we saw the tail of from the bin laden raid.

B-21:

The B-21 program completed a review and project remains on track.  Rumors were true and this was the CDR.

The USAF feels it needs more bombers.

B-2:

Whiteman AFB released a video of a B-2 dropping two 30,000 lbs bombs.

The B-2 overflew the Rose Bowl and the Rose Parade.

The USAF is sending B-2s to Hawaii for exercises.

F-22:

Some of the Tyndall AFB F-22s are now based in Alaska.

F-35:

Major Rachael Winiecki has become the first female F-35 test pilot.

The F-35 has begun IOT&E testing.

The Block IV F-35s will have improved maritime strike capabilities.

The USAF announced a new F-35 areobatic display for the 2019 airshow season.

An F-35 oooed and aaahed folks with its flight through Star Wars Canyon.

F-35 operators are switching the version of the AIM-9 they are using.

F-35As will probably replace the F-22s at Tyndall AFB.

The 388th Fighter Wing’s 421st Fighter Squadron received its first F-35A.

The US Navy's first operational F-35C squadron is declared safe for flight.

The  US Navy's F-35Cs have a 15% readiness rating.

The F-35C is on track, despite the above, to be declared to have reached IOC.

Australia's first two F-35s are due to arrived on Dec 10th.

Watch British F-35Bs with F-15s and Rafales.

The Brits are on a roll after their testing of the F-35B.

The British RAF/RN are in a tug of war over the order of the F-35s.

The British have declared IOC for land based ops for its F-35s.

Israel has started making its own wings components for the F-35C.

More on Italy declaring IOC for its F-35As.

Italy will review the F-35 program in 2019.

Japan is replacing 99 F-15SJs with F-35s.  The F-4 Phantoms will also be replaced with already planned F-35s.

Some are convinced Japan's intent to convert its helicopter carriers to VSTOL carriers using F-35Bs is going to be harder than people think.  Japan is moving forward, however, to counter Russia and China.

With this latest order, Japan is on track for to become the second largest operator of F-35s.

The Pentagon stated if Turkey is removed from the F-35 program, there won't be a devastating impact.

Turkey is endangering its F-35 purchase by not cancelling its S-400 buy.

Leonardo figured out how to overcome overheating issues with the internal F-35 training system.

Lockheed met its production target for 2018 and delivered 91 F-35s.

Lockheed also got a contract for updating the F-35's avionics.

META:

A course to integrate 4th & 5th gen fighters took place.

The US Congress' CBO floated the idea of postponing the B-21, 6th gen fighter, getting rid of the F-22 and ending manufacture of the F-35 to save on the budget.

Stealth Saga #41

Sixth Gen Fighters:

The AFRL is seeking information on the status of lasers that could be used to shoot down incoming SAMs or air to air missiles.

France and Germany are having a tiff over whether or not the FCAS will have significant export restrictions.  Germany wants them.  France does not.

Germany is eager for Spain to participate in the FCAS and some design parameters are starting to emerge.

The FCAS program must be manned because France needs it for the air superiority and nuclear missions.

KF-X:

Indonesia is trying to renegotiate its contribution to the KF-X/IFX project due to fiscal constraints.

TF-X:

Turkey selected GE over Rolls Royce to provide the engines to its new fighter.

Other sources are stating Turkey is putting in a local engine design instead.

SU-57:

The Russians did a photoshoot of the SU-57.

They also did a slightly cheesy shoot of the load testing and failures on a static article for the SU-57.

The Russians are claiming the SU-57 is better than the F-22 and the F-35.  WiB comes to defend the F-22 vs the SU-57.

SU-57 pilots are testing gravity suits to counter the affects of acceleration had high g turns and the like.

The Russians have released pictures of testing the SU-57 at a radar range.

CH-7:

China showed off its stealthy CH-7 UAV.

Tiang Ying:

China also showed off a flying wing UAV that could be a carrier based drone.

J-20:

J-20s, at least three, possibly more, participated in the airshow at Zhuhai.

The J-20 overflew the Zhuhai airshow with its weapons bay open.  It showed it could carry six missiles: four in the main bay and one in each of the secondaries.

F-35 haters are defending the J-20.

China is making significant advances on the fighter front.

J-31/FC-31:

Sources stated the Chinese government has given AVIC a contract to develop the J-31 into an aircraft suitable for the Chinese military due to the J-15 problems.

H-20:

Reports are starting to circulate the Chinese will unveil the H-20 next year.  Accurate?  Who knows.

Unknown Tonopah aircraft:

Satellite images were censored of an unknown aircraft at the famous Area 51.

Northrop Grumman Stealth Transport:

Was this a cockpit mockup of an undisclosed stealthy transport aircraft?

B-2:

A B-2 bomber had an emergency landing in Colorado Springs.

B-21:

Edwards AFB will be where the B-21 is tested and Tinker AFB will be its regular post testing base.

F-23:

The F-22 changed a lot from the YF-22 to the F-22A.  Had the YF-23 won the competition, what would the production F-23A looked like?

WiB attacks the idea bringing the F-23 into production is a good one.

F-22:

Hurricane Michael did damage to up to 17 F-22s at Tyndall AFB. At least five were in good enough condition they were flown out of Tyndall to Langley.

F-22s arrived at Klein-Brogal AFB in Belgium.

The KC-30 is undergoing refueling trials with the F-22 for certification.

On April 13th, an F-22 had a bellyflop landing on take-off.  The pilot was to blame.

All F-22s have left Tyndall, SecUSAF has stated.

F-35:

Has the Block Buy for the F-35 begun?  Lockheed received a downpayment of $6B for 255 F-35s.

80% of F-35s have been returned to flight operations after the recent grounding.

The crash may slow the F-35 testing a couple months.

The USAF is working to fix the cyber security weaknesses of the F-35.

An F-35B connected to the USS Wasp anti cruise missile system.

The Aviationist has a video of a F-35B refueling over the Middle East.

Belgium has reportedly selected the F-35A over the Eurofighter to replace its F-16s.  European firms are unhappy with the selection.  The F-35 selection shouldn't shock anyone.  It still makes some haters unhappy.

The Brits tested the Shipborne Rolling Vertical Landing technique for the first time on the HMS Queen Elizabeth.

F-35Bs on the Queen Elizabeth have completed DT-1 trials.

The British confirmed their order of another 17 F-35Bs.

Israeli F-35Is had been returned to service faster than the rest it seems.

Italy is signaling it will be slowing down its F-35 orders.

A report from the Pentagon to Congress on Turkey's participation in the F-35 has been delivered.

Lockheed expects to sell even more F-35s.

Can Lockheed keep the sustainment costs down for the F-35?

Stealth Saga #76

Sixth Generation Fighter:

France and Germany are planning their nextgen (sixth gen?) fighter.

Since Britain has been excluded from the Franco-German next gen fighter, they are planning what to do for their next gen.

The British government has given BAe a 12 month contract for their FCAS.

The Brits have started talks with the Swedes on the next gen fighter.

The Brits have come out to call their next gen fighter concept, called the Tempest.  At this point, the aircraft shown is only a concept, not necessarily what it will end up being.  The Italians are involved with the new fighter (Leonardo) making the avionics and EW suite.  Why BAe wants to do away with the traditional cockpit in the Tempest concept. Interestingly, no American companies or Japanese: Boeing is interested in helping though.  Nor does it include the Germans or French.  The program does hinge on international cooperation though.  The announcement has been met with more than a little skepticism.  And here's a USAF POV.   Dassault was a bit snarky over the Tempest.

Airbus has since come out to say that there isn't room in Europe for two sixth gen fighters and has started discussions with the Brits to include them in the project at a later date.  Some are not sure either way.  Airbus wants a collaborative approach to the FCAS project.  How will this new set of projects, the Franco-German and British, for the next gen fighter play out?

Eurofighter expects to demo a lot of the technologies for the next gen european fighter(s).  Eurofighter is also predicting one of the two programs will be discarded.

Is the Chinese Dark Sword Fighter UCAV the world's first sixth gen fighter?

GE received a contract for the 6th gen fighter engine prototype for the US.  This engine type will support lasers and other new weapons through increased electrical output (amongst other ways).

What's going on with the USAF and USN sixth gen fighters?

The Russians are claiming the are developing a dual LIDAR/RADAR sensor to find stealth aircraft for their 6th gen fighter.

The Russians are claiming they are testing 6th gen fighter systems on the Su-57.  They stated their baseline sixth gen fighter will be unmanned, but can be flown by a pilot.

J-15 Replacement:

China has stated they are developing a replacement for the J-15.  The FC-31/J-31 has been suggested, but not likely as the start of the next gen aircraft.

Chinese VSTOL Fighter:

Could China build a VSTOL fighter like the F-35B?

A Rolls Royce engineer has been busted for trying to sell F-35 secrets to the Chinese.

HUNTER-B:

The Russians claim to have a new "stealthy" flying wing UCAV with a gross takeoff weight of 25klbs.  Flight tests are supposed to start in 2019.  Or this year...

5th Gen Aerial Target:

Sierra Nevada completed the CDR for a 5th gen aerial target using carbon fibre and two afterburning jet engines.  It is intended to simulate a J-20, Su-57 or some other stealthy aircraft for target practice by fighters or surface to air weaponry.

KFX:

South Korea wants the CDR for the KFX to be completed by September 2019.

South Korea wants a "Taurus" missile for its KFX.

South Korea released updated images for their KFX design.

Indonesia is wondering whether to continue with the KFX program.

TF-X:

The Anglo-Turkish deal to work on the TF-X fighter project appears to be in trouble.

Turkey is considering which engine to put in the TFX.

F-3:

Northrop Grumman wants a big part of the Japanese F-3 5th generation fighter.

The Lockheed F-22/F-35 hybrid is being offered to Japan at $177M per plane.  This is more than the $133M/plane they want for the F-3 program.

FGFA:

What killed the Russo-Indian FGFA?

And there are rumors it might be brought back from the dead.

Su-57:

Russia has still not signed the contract for the Su-57.  It would be a challenge, to say the least, to deliver all 12 Su-57s by the end of 2019 at this point.

Now, supposedly, they have inked the contract.  It should be noted, the Russians have stated the new engine will not be installed until 2023 at the earliest.

Russia is claiming the Su-57 is going to be far cheaper than the F-35.  The F-35 is now at the same price (for the A model) as F/A-18s, Rafales and Eurofighters.  The price will continue to drop through the initiation of full rate production.

The Russians have stated they developed a new G suit for the Su-57.

The Su-57 project isn't dead, yet, but its not healthy either.

There is also a report running around that the Su-57 is going to never be mass produced.

KC-Z:

The Air Force Research Lab is talking about a stealthy tanker.

PAK-DA:

The Russians are stating the PAK-DA will have multiple roles beyond bomber including recon and command center.

The PAK-DA will be stealthy.  If it ever gets built.

H-20:

China's H-20 might be the world's first manned aircraft using the cranked kite bauplan.

B-21:

The B-21 program could complete its Critical Design Review by the end of the year.

As the B-21's come online, the B-1s will be retired.

100 B-21s may not be enough.

B-2:

The B-2 has undergone B61-12 nuclear bomb qualifications.

The USAF is not yet willing to publicly discuss how it will retire the B-2 bomber when the B-21 comes online.

The B-2 is getting a battle management software upgrade.

There are some cool shots of the B-2.

F-22:

The EA-18G Growler has been used as the aggressor for the F-22A for training.

The GAO is recommending changes to the F-22 organization for better availability and utilization.

F-35:

The House HAC-D wants the US to buy another 93 F-35s in FY2019.  The Senate only wants to pay for 72.  The Senate is now pushing 89.

The USAF is comparing the close air support capabilities of the F-35 and the A-10.  Some are very, very unhappy with the tests.

Negotiations for Lot 11 are not going well.  It was hoped for a big announcement, but, unfortunately, it does not look like that will happen soon.  It may be the government imposes a price again.  The expected price if $89M all inclusive for the F-35A, down from $94M.  Then again, AvWeek is reporting the opposite.  Now Jane's is as well.

The F-35 program is talking about adding the ability add more capabilities to the F-35 rapidly.

The US and its allies are mapping out a larger role for the F-35 than just a traditional strike fighter.

The USMC is fatigue testing the F-35Bs.

The USMC is striking its first F-35B from inventory.

The USS Essex LHD-2 deployed with F-35Bs aboard.

British efforts to introduce the F-35B seem to be going well with IOC expected in December.

In Britain, the F-35B flew by the Farnborough air show, but few others did.

The British RAF is going through a significant change and the F-35 is part of that.

Canada is highly unlikely to buy the F-35: they are planning on making it very difficult to have countries that have hurt it economically to win the competition.

China may be attempting to acquire F-35B tech.

Three more F-35Is have been delivered to Israel.

Israel is asking the US not to sell the F-35 to Turkey.

Israel hosted a delegation from the UAE to review F-35 operations.  The UAE is interested in the fighter.  The US also had a delegation present to observe what was observed.  The Israelis are now claiming they did no such thing.

Italy is assembling the first Dutch F-35 built in Europe.

Italy deployed four F-35As on their first 'operational' mission.

Italy announced they are not ordering more F-35s and may cut their existing orders.  If this happens, Italy will probably lose a lot of the work they've been getting for the project once their orders are complete.  Considering they are the major European center for maintenance and assembly, this could...hurt.

Japanese final assembly and check out capacity could be maxed out next year.

Singapore is going to announce its replacement for the F-16 shortly.  The F-35, whether the A or B model, is likely.

The Swiss have asked Lockheed amongst other Western companies to place a bid for its Air2030 fighter procurement.  Lockheed is supposed to offer the F-35A.

Turkey is taking delivery of its first F-35.  Congress is stepping up the campaign to prevent delivery.  The spending bill in the Senate would halt further transfers.  The US State Department has warned Turkey over the S-400 missile deal and threatened the loss of the F-35s.

Turkey's rollout ceremony for its first F-35 was rather different than the norm.

Turkey has stated Trump has guaranteed their F-35 deliveries.

Even with everything up in the air, Turkish F-35 pilots have started their training in the US.

The US DOD opposes removing Turkey from the F-35 program.

The United Arab Emirates are seeking to buy the F-35.

General Electric has been awarded $437M contract to develop advanced engines for the F-35 and beyond.

Lockheed will soon implement Auto-GCAS on the F-35.

Lockheed has delivered the 300th F-35.

Lockheed received a $735M contract mod for the F-35 and another $503M.

Lockheed got another $173M contract for the F-35.

Lockheed also got another $73M contract for the F-35.

Lockheed is targeting sustainability and reliability for the F-35 now.

Northrop Grumman withdrew from providing a sensor for the F-35.  Lockheed has Raytheon working on its replacement: Raytheon's new DAS sensor is lighter and uses less power than Northrop's.  Supposedly, it will save a fair amount of money on sustainment.  Britain is unsure of the change in suppliers.

Northrop has entered full rate production for the F-35 fuselages.

Pratt & Whitney is proposing upgrades to the F-35's engine.

Raytheon is waiting to see whether or not its StormBreaker bomb will be integrated on the F-35.

META:

With Russia's SU-57 woes and China and the USA producing 5th gen fighters, where does that leave the balance of air power?

Stealth Saga #75

Dark Sword:

Images have come out of a Chinese UCAV called the Dark Sword.  While not new, it was only previously seen as a model at a conference and a blurry photo before.  Now, far from blurry.  Some speculation as to what is going on.

YF-23:

The YF-23 had a unique feature to deal with boundary air around the inlets.

X-32/JAST/F-32:

Had Boeing won the JSF, what would the F-32 looked like?

F-117:

The lessons of the F-117's stealth tech.  Supposedly.

KF-X:

Indonesia may continue or pause its participation in the KF-X.  It appears pause is the word.

TF-X:

Turkey's TF-X program gets profiled.

Russia has expressed interest in collaborating on Turkey's TF-X fighter.

Eurofighter Replacement:

Will Germany and France actually replace the Eurofighter Typhoon with a stealth jet?

Su-57:

Su-57 is being called about as stealthy as the F/A-18E/F, even by those who seem to like the plane.  However, it does have some features intended to fight true 5th gen fighters.  The Business Insider seems to agree the Su-57 is NOT a stealth aircraft.  Why Russia might not be able to build a stealth aircraft.  The SU-57 is estimated to have an RCS of .1m^2.  That is stealthier than the F/A-18E/F, but enough to be called a true stealth aircraft.

Some photos of the 9th Su-57.

A new photo of the Su-57 with the new engine emerged.  The Russians have stated they are testing the new engine with regular flights.

The Russians have fired a standoff missile from the Su-57 while it was in Syria in combat.

The Russians had the Su-57 participate in Aviadarts.

Turkey is threatening to switch from the F-35 to the Su-57 if the former is banned from delivery by Congress.

J-20:

Take a look at the J-20's helmet.

The J-20 has started exercising over the ocean.

The J-20 might start patrolling the Straits of Taiwan.

The J-20 may have a ground strike capability so it may be used to take out air defenses.  A recent exercise in China suggests as much.

The J-20 conducted exercises at night.

The Indians are claiming they can easily spot the J-20 fighters with their Su-30MKs.  The question is whether or not the J-20 has reflectors on like the US fighters often do.

Sixth Generation Fighters:

The USAF has stated the analysis of alternatives for the NGAD program is to be completed this summer.

The USAF is requesting $492 million for its next generation air dominance aircraft for FY19.  The projected funding profile (FY20: $1.3B, FY21 $1.9B, FY22: $3.2B (comparison, GAO report on the ATF program)) looks as though there will be a repeat of the B-21 demonstrator flights.  This seems pretty close to confirmed with the line on page 4 of the request that states "In addition, technical risk reduction activities will be performed to include experimentation, integration and building demonstrative prototypes."

The US Navy in contrast has only requested $5 million in FY19 to continue its AOA.

H-20:

China might be trolling Northrop over the H-20 or may have come up with their own flying wing.  Or both.  Some think China will unveil the H-20 relatively soon.

What do we 'know' about the H-20?

B-21:

The USAF has selected three bases for the B-21.

Was F-22 production killed to start what became the B-21?

Some are stating the B-21 is unnecessary, but ignore the fact that when Carter cancelled the B-1, he launched the Advanced Technology Bomber program, what became the B-2.

F-22:

Repairs have been completed on the F-22 that was damaged on a runway skid 6 years ago.

F-22s were deployed to South Korea.

Four F-22s were deployed to Okinawa.

Here is a take on the classified report on how much it would take to restart F-22 production.

Listen to the F-22 engine start.

F-35:

The new head of acquisitions for the USAF is attempting to deal with the software glitches in the F-35.

The US DOD has started accepting F-35 deliveries after resolving the corrosion issues with Lockheed.

The US DOD is planning on buying up to 1600 GBU-49s for foreign F-35s.

Sustainment costs are foremost on the F-35 procurement team's mind now.

ALIS continues to be a problem for the F-35 program.

The F-35 has a problem that it needs to communicate with nonstealth aircraft and that will compromise its stealthiness.

While manufacturing processes are improving for the F-35, it still takes 41,000 man hours to make an F-35A (vs 108,000 in 2012).

F-35s requires $1.4 billion in fixes, but who will pay?

USAF F-35As have returned from a deployment to Japan.

USMC F-35Bs have started training with the Japanese F-35As.

You can watch USMC vertical landings.

The US Navy awarded P&W a contract mod for engine work.

Lockheed got another contract for engineering work for the F-35 and another contract.

The US Congress is complaining the F-35C lacks the necessary range to strike targets.

Australia has received the F-35A training equipment.

The HMS Queen Elizabeth will start F-35B trials shortly.

The Brits will take 4 F-35Bs in June to RAF Marnham.  However, they have been delayed by bad weather.  Then they were on their way.  And they arrived.  More pix.  Videos of the arrivals.

Israel claims to have used the F-35I in combat.

Photos of the Israeli F-35I have emerged over Lebanon.

Japan's Izumo class can support F-35Bs.  Japan is increasingly looking like the Japanese will find a way, in the legal sense, to make the Izumo class mini carriers.

Japan will have 7 F-35s by the end of May 2018.

Japan has based another F-35A at Misawa AB.

Taiwan is negotiating to get the F-35B.

Turkey will receive its first F-35A on June 21st, 2018.  The first bird has taken its first flight.

Lockheed doubts the Brits will cut their F-35B buy.

British Aerospace has received a $100 million contract from Lockheed to support the F-35 EW system.