Lee Hudson
Aviation Week
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Past articles by Lee:
Pentagon Rethinks Troubled F-35 Logistics System
How the F-35 program is quietly replacing its logistics system known as ALIS with ODIN. → Read More
UK And U.S. Armies Aligning Modernization Efforts
The British Army and U.S. Army are to align modernization efforts to enable them to operate more seamlessly. The plans include creating what officials call a “closer affiliation” on the U.S. Army’s Future Vertical Lift rotorcraft modernization initiative. → Read More
U.S. Military Turns To Remote Pilot Training
In response to the novel coronavirus, the U.S. military was forced to think outside the box on how to produce pilots. → Read More
COVID-19 Impacts Air Force One Replacement Bottom Line
Boeing is facing a novel coronavirus-related setback to the VC-25B presidential transport program, causing the company to recognize a $168 million impact in the first quarter. → Read More
USAF Announces New Major Deficiency on KC-46
Excessive fuel leaks discovered in July are severe enough the government thinks that lives or critical assets could be at risk. → Read More
F-35 Track Data Fed To Army Missile Defense System
This was the first-time live F-35 track data was sent to the IBCS using both the F-35 ground station and the F-35 IBCS adaptation kit, which were both developed by Lockheed Martin, according to a company statement. → Read More
Pentagon Says F-35 Flight Hour Stretch Goal Unachievable
The Pentagon admits its $25,000 flight hour stretch goal for the Lockheed Martin F-35A is unrealistic to attain by fiscal 2025. → Read More
USAF: Boeing ‘Embarrassed’ By KC-46A Debris Problems
The U.S. Air Force will begin accepting Boeing KC-46As later this month and the company’s senior leadership is “embarrassed” by the program's foreign object debris problem, according to the service's acquisition chief. → Read More
Space Force Plan Seen As Optimistic
The Pentagon is making optimistic assumptions, especially regarding congressional support, in its five-year plan for a U.S. Space Force (USSF), according to sources on Capitol Hill and in industry. → Read More
USMC Identifies Potential F-35C Backlog
The Marines want to buy fewer F-35Bs in fiscal 2020 because a future backlog was identified for the aircraft’s C-model, the service told Aerospace DAILY. → Read More
USAF May Not Purchase Stealthy Tanker, Chief Says
The USAF may not buy a next-generation low-observable tanker that would support fifth-gen. fighters like the F-35 and F-22, the service’s chief of staff says. → Read More
Top U.S. Hypersonic Weapon Program Facing New Schedule Pressure
Newly released documents reveal the timing, depth and risks posed by the Pentagon’s broad hypersonic weapons plan. → Read More
Fuel Tube Defect Grounds F-35 Fleet
An accident investigation team identified an issue with the jet’s fuel tube, which is a common component across all three variants of the stealthy fighter. → Read More
Bell Touts Tiltrotor Experience In MUX Bid
Bell’s experience with V-22 Osprey and V-280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft position the company well for the U.S. Marine Corps’ Group 5 UAS competition. → Read More
Boeing Wins Lucrative Huey Replacement Competition
Boeing has received the first installment of $2.38 billion the U.S. Air Force will spend on the Huey replacement effort. → Read More
Can The U.S. Air Force Add 74 Squadrons?
While analysts like the idea of adding to the force to fight high-end threats, budget realities are likely to get in the way. → Read More
Affordability Initiative May Bring F-35 Price Under $80 Million
Through two phases of its Blueprint for Affordability program, Lockheed Martin has saved $5 billion over the program life cycle with a $250 million investment. → Read More
USAF Calls T-6 Physiological Events ‘Extreme Outliers’
The U.S. Air Force says early analysis indicates that so-called physiological events (PEs) among T-6 pilots are “extreme outliers.” → Read More
Modular Northrop Grumman Vanguard Surveillance Radar Details Unveiled
Northrop designed the Vanguard architecture to support a shift to a modular approach that reuses the same software and hardware on a range of products spanning airborne, ground and surface platforms. → Read More
F-35C Conducts First-Ever Operational Test At Sea
Aviation Week was invited to observe the first time the U.S. Navy F-35C conducted operational testing on an aircraft carrier. The test period began Aug. 22 and includes six F-35Cs and 30-40 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. The service selected the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) for OT-1 and the aircraft carrier is operating somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. → Read More