Defense Industry Daily Logo
F-35 Lightning: The Joint Strike Fighter Program

F-35 Lightning: The Joint Strike Fighter Program

F-35B: off probation (click to view full) The $382 billion F-35 Joint Strike fighter program may well be the largest single global defense program in history. This major multinational program is intended to produce an "affordably stealthy" multi-role fighter that will...

V-22 Osprey

V-22 Osprey

(click to view full) In March 2008, the Bell Boeing Joint Project Office in Amarillo, TX received a $10.4 billion modification that converted the previous N00019-07-C-0001 advance acquisition contract to a fixed-price-incentive-fee, multi-year contract. The new...

KC-46A Pegasus Aerial Tanker Completes Firsts

KC-46A Pegasus Aerial Tanker Completes Firsts

KC-135: Old as the hills... (click to view full) DID's FOCUS articles cover major weapons acquisition programs - and no program is more important to the USAF than its aerial tanker fleet renewal. In January 2007, the big question was whether there would be a...

Super Hornet Fighter Family MYP-III: Contracts

Super Hornet Fighter Family MYP-III: Contracts

Breakthrough... (click to view full) The US Navy flies the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet fighters, and has begun operating the EA-18G Growler electronic warfare & strike aircraft. Many of these buys have been managed out of common multi-year procurement (MYP) contracts,...

P-8 Poseidon MMA: Long-Range Maritime Patrol, and More

P-8 Poseidon MMA: Long-Range Maritime Patrol, and More

P-8A Poseidon (click to view full) Maritime surveillance and patrol is becoming more and more important, but the USA's P-3 Orion turboprop fleet is falling apart. The P-7 Long Range Air ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) Capable Aircraft program to create an improved P-3...

AH-64E Apache Block III: Evolving Battlefield Roles

AH-64E Apache Block III: Evolving Battlefield Roles

AH-64 in Afghanistan (click to view full) The AH-64 Apache will remain the US Army's primary armed helicopter for several more decades, thanks to the collapse of the RAH-66 Comanche program, and the retirement sans replacement of the US Army's Armed Reconnaissance...

CH-53K: The U.S. Marines’ HLR Helicopter Program

CH-53K: The U.S. Marines’ HLR Helicopter Program

CH-53K concept (click to view full) The U.S. Marines have a problem. They rely on their CH-53E Super Stallion medium-heavy lift helicopters to move troops, vehicles, and supplies off of their ships. But the helicopters are wearing out. Fast. The pace demanded by the...