June 1, 2013

Italy's ruling party divided over order for F-35 combat jets

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/30/us-defence-italy-f-idUSBRE94T0R620130530



Italy's ruling party divided over order for F-35 combat jets
By Steve Scherer and Roberto Landucci
ROME | Thu May 30, 2013 12:04pm EDT

(Reuters) - Italian opposition parties and some lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party called on the government on Thursday to abandon its plans to buy 90 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets.

Italy's total planned investment in the new Lightning II Joint Strike fighters (JSF) exceeds 10 billion euros ($12.97 billion) even though it cut its order last year to 90 aircraft from the 131 it had originally penciled in to buy more than a decade ago, a move it said would save 5 billion euros.

The opposition 5-Star Movement, the Left Ecology Liberty (SEL) and 13 members of Prime Minister Enrico Letta's Democratic Party (PD), one of two main components of the right-left coalition, now want to scrap the order completely.

"We can easily do without the F-35," said Giulio Marcon, an SEL lawmaker. "The government should make a responsible gesture and use these resources to increase welfare spending and create jobs."

June 1, 2013

Operational flights of Lockheed Martin's F-35 will begin as soon as 2015

http://www.al.com/business/index.ssf/2013/05/operational_flights_of_lockhee.html

Operational flights of Lockheed Martin's F-35 will begin as soon as 2015
Leada Gore
on May 31, 2013 at 11:30 AM, updated May 31, 2013 at 11:34 AM

Operational flights of the F-35 fighter jet will begin as soon as 2015, according to Department of Defense information released today. The Marine Corps will begin using the Lockheed-Martin-produced F-35 in 2015, followed by the Air Force in 2016 and the Navy in 2019.

The services notified Congress June 1 on the dates they expected to have enough aircraft to support missions, an threshold known as Initial Operating Capability.

"We appreciate the confidence in the F-35 program expressed by the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy with the announcement of their Initial Operating Capability dates," Lockheed said in a statement. "Our top priority is to continue to execute our plan to support these IOC dates starting with the Marine Corps in December 2015. Lockheed Martin is committed to cost effectively delivering the F-35s unprecedented 5th generation capabilities to the warfighter."

~snip~

The military has received 52 planes through 2012. The Pentagon will spend $8.4 billion next year to purchase 29 F-35s, including 19 for the Air Force, six for Marine Corps and four for the Navy.



unhappycamper comment: Time to start another rumor: $8.4 billion dollars / 29 planes = $289.6 million dollars per plane.

I've been maintaining that the F-35 costs at least $243 million dollars a pop.

June 1, 2013

U.S. military reveals timing of future F-35 fighter's use to Congress

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/31/us-usa-military-f-idUSBRE94U19220130531



U.S. military reveals timing of future F-35 fighter's use to Congress
WASHINGTON | Fri May 31, 2013 5:30pm EDT

(Reuters) - America's newest warplane, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, will reach operational milestones in 2015 for the Marine Corps, 2016 for the Air Force and 2019 for the Navy, according to details formally provided to the U.S. Congress on Friday.

Those are the dates that Lockheed Martin's F-35 will achieve initial operational capability - the point when the services have enough planes on hand to go to war if needed.

Actual deployments usually lag initial operational capability (IOC) dates by about a year.

Reuters previously reported rough dates, citing sources familiar with the plans.

June 1, 2013

Three Naval Academy football players accused of sexual assault

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/05/31/three-naval-academy-football-players-accused-of-sexual-assault/



Three Naval Academy football players accused of sexual assault
By Kay Steiger
Friday, May 31, 2013 10:40 EDT

Three Naval Academy football players are under investigation for sexually assaulting a female Navy midshipman, officials confirmed on Thursday to Military.com.

NBC News confirmed that the assault was alleged to take place in the back of a car, when the four had been drinking. One alleged assailant was reportedly her boyfriend, a senior at the academy who began the assault, followed by the two others who are juniors at the Naval Academy.

The assault allegedly took place a year ago when the woman originally reported it, but then four months later she said she wanted to drop the case. In February, she decided to continue with the case and the investigation is ongoing.

~snip~

The report of this assault going public comes less than a week after President Barack Obama spoke at the Naval Academy graduation and told graduates that sexual assault has “no place in the greatest military on Earth.”