Aerospace Group:

Air Force

Shanahan Provides Update to Fighter Readiness Levels: F-22, F-16 Still Lagging

By Vivienne Machi

Wednesday, May 1st, 2019

SHARE:

Shanahan Provides Update to Fighter Readiness Levels: F-22, F-16 Still Lagging

An F-22 Raptor at 2010's Fort Worth Alliance Air Show. The F-22 is one of the lead platforms for the EGI-M. (Lockheed Martin)

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told lawmakers May 1 that most of the Pentagon’s fighter aircraft fleet has made progress toward meeting an 80 percent mission capable rate goal by Oct. 1, but the Air Force fighters continue to struggle. The Navy has made “significant progress” with its F/A-18 Super Hornets and should be on track to meet the readiness capable rate by the end of fiscal year 2019, he said during a hearing before the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee…

Unmanned Systems

Counter-Drone Needs Will Be Addressed In Next NDAA Based On Iran War Lessons, Banks Says

A Republican senator on Armed Services Committee on Thursday said that defending against Iranian drones has been challenge for U.S. warfighters and will be an area of focus in the […]

Pentagon

Pentagon ‘Working Options’ On Iran Supplemental, May Seek Funds For New Capabilities

The Pentagon is “working options” for a potential supplemental spending request to fund the operation against Iran and replenish munitions used in the strike campaign, with a senior official noting […]

Congress

Wicker Backs “Crash Program” To Supply Ukraine With Low-Cost Weapons

Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) on Thursday proposed a rapid effort to supply Ukraine with low-cost weapons to aid that country in turning back Russia. “We […]

Congress

Dem Lawmakers Want To Codify Trump’s Push For More Defense Contractor Accountability

A group of four Congressional Democrats want to codify President Donald Trump’s push to hold defense firms accountable for prioritizing production investments over paying out stock buybacks, and are seeking […]