An F-35C Lightning II, marked CF-1, conducts a test flight over Chesapeake Bay in February 2011. Wikipedia
The Pentagon's $399 Billion Plane to Nowhere -- Foreign Policy
The next-generation F-35, the most expensive plane ever built, may be too dangerous to fly. Why is Congress keeping it alive?
Burying bad news before a long holiday weekend, the Pentagon announced just before 9 p.m. on July 3 that the entire F-35 Joint Strike Fighter fleet was being grounded after a June 23 runway fire at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
The grounding could not have come at a worse time, especially for the Marine Corps, which had lots of splashy events planned this month for its variant of the next-generation plane, whose costs have soared to an estimated $112 million per aircraft.
Effectively saying that the most expensive warplane in American history is too dangerous to fly is a huge public relations blow for the Pentagon, which has been under fire for years for allowing the plane's costs to increase even as its delivery time continued to slide right. The plane's prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, could also take a hit to its bottom line if the F-35 isn't cleared to fly to the United Kingdom for a pair of high-profile international air shows packed with potential customers. One thing the grounding won't do, however, is derail the F-35, a juggernaut of a program that apparently has enough political top cover to withstand any storm.
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Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- July 9, 2014
Axing The F-35's Alternative Engine Was An Incredibly Stupid Move -- Jalopnik
Pentagon suspends F-35 contract negotiations until latest failure resolved -- IHS Janes 360
US Marine F-35Bs Could Make Airshows, Even if UK Jets Do Not -- Defense News
Hagel Traveling to Site of F-35 Fire -- DoD Buzz
US Senate shrugs off F-35 grounding -- The Hill
US Senators frustrated after closed-door Iraq briefing -- The Hill
US bases on Okinawa assessing damage after Typhoon Neoguri rolls through -- Stars and Stripes
Cute Japan pop star recruits soldiers as Abe boosts military -- Reuters
Procurement: The Moslem Jet Fighter -- Strategy Page
No Iranian Regulars on Ground in Iraq, Pentagon Spokesman Says -- US Department of defense
Warplanes: Iraq Gets The Russian AH-64 -- Strategy Page
How Putin outmaneuvered the US in resupplying the Iraqi military -- James Kitfield, Yahoo News
Russian Navy Trains to Fight Assault as NATO Accumulates Ships in Black Sea -- RIA Novosti
Russia Presents Unique Drone at Innoprom-2014 Exhibition -- RIA Novosti
Russia, China Hold Military Drills to Strengthen Bilateral Cooperation -- RIA Novosti
Britain's Hague plugs Eurofighter on visit to India -- Reuters
UK hopes to oust France from Indian fighter jet order -- E&T
Germany investigating second U.S. spy suspect: security sources -- Reuters
Yes vote will spell the end of military shipbuilding in Scotland, warns union boss -- Daily Record
Geese blamed for U.S. helicopter crash in England -- AP
U.S. aircraft carrier to make port call to S. Korea, tensions feared to mount -- Xinhua
Budget Highlight: Air Force Long Range Strike Bomber -- FAS.org
Marines, sailors deploying to board new amphibious assault ship -- Stars and Stripes
GAO examines LCS program -- FOX News
Watchdog: Pentagon Paid Textron's Bell $8,124 for a $445 Gear -- Money News
Air Force under fire for canceled $1 billion computer project -- Stars and Stripes/Dayton (Ohio) Daily News
VA chiefs who stifled whistleblowers got $100,000 in bonuses -- Washington Times
Senate committee passes CISA cybersecurity bill that could broaden NSA powers -- RT
US military studied how to influence Twitter users in Darpa-funded research -- The Guardian
The US military runs studies on Twitter, Facebook and Reddit to learn how to counter propaganda -- New Vision
What you need to know about DARPA, the Pentagon's mad science division -- Endgadget
Fugitive Snowden asks to extend stay in Russia: lawyer -- Reuters
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