FLYING HIGH: The highly scrutinized F-35 fighter jet program — at $400 billion the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons program ever — is moving into a new phase with the decision to ramp up orders for hundreds of new planes, along with an infusion of spare parts to keep them flying at a much higher rate. The $34 billion agreement with Lockheed Martin calls for the delivery of 478 F-35 aircraft in three batches or “production lots.”
“This is a new, stark milestone for the F-35 enterprise,” said Ellen Lord, the Pentagon’s undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, at a Pentagon briefing yesterday. “The F-35 … will form the backbone of the U.S. and allied fifth-generation inventory for the foreseeable future.”
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The next lot of planes, the 12th since the program began, calls for 149 F-35s, followed by 160 for lot 13 and 169 for lot 14.
“We are at a strategic inflection point now on the program, moving from initial development and fielding to modernization, high-rate production and global fleet sustainment,” said Air Force Lt. Gen. Eric Fick, the F-35’s program executive officer.
STICKER PRICE DROPS: Lord says the negotiated contracts with Lockheed Martin, which include incentives fees, will bring the per copy price of the standard F-35A Air Force version down to $80 million in lot 13, which hits a target earlier than planned.
Overall the price for all three variants, including the F-35B Marine Corps vertical landing version and the Navy F-35C carrier version, has dropped by between 12 and 13 percent. “These represent some of the largest achieved savings, lot over lot, for the program,” said Lord.
“I have full faith and confidence in the F-35 program and our ability to deliver F-35 combat capability anywhere in the world,” she told reporters. “Make no mistake: The F-35 is the world’s most advanced, lethal and interoperable aircraft ever developed.”
STILL SOME BUGS: Even as the Pentagon accelerates the purchase of hundred more F-35’s, the plane had still not be certified as 100% combat ready, but Lord says that’s because it’s still being tested for its ability to meet future threats that don’t yet exist.
“The criteria in terms of getting out of IOT&E (Initial Operational Test and Evaluation) is to test against threats that we will see 10 years from now in the densities we would see 10 years from now,” she said. “We’ve completed over 90 percent of the testing. We are very confident in the configuration of the aircraft and we are just working on the nuances of working against these advanced threats.”
“The Air Force and the Marine Corps have both deployed squadrons and are very, very happy with the capability,” Lord added. “So the public should be extremely comfortable with the aircraft that is out there today.”
TURKEY STILL OUT: The Pentagon also confirmed that it has basically given up on Turkey as production partner because of its refusal to give up its new Russian S-400 air defense system, which the U.S. says is incompatible with the F-35 and when operated near the plane could compromise the jet’s stealthy flight profile.
“Turkey makes nearly one thousand parts for the F-35 and will continue to do so until Turkey’s F-35 supply chain responsibilities transfer at the end of March 2020,” said Lord.
WHO’S FLYING THE PLANE: As of last month, over 440 F-35s have been delivered to 17 bases worldwide, with over 850 pilots and 8,200 maintainers.
The program has reached initial operational capability for the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marines Corps, as well as allies Italy, Japan, Israel and the United Kingdom. Norway will be the next country to join that group.
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TURKEY SANCTIONS PASS HOUSE: By a wide bipartisan margin the House has passed a bill imposing sanctions on Turkey in response to its military operation in northern Syria. The lopsided 403-16 vote saw only 15 Republicans and one Democrat, Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, opposed.
“Our bill imposes penalties on Turkey if it continues its offensive in Northern Syria,” said Texas Republican Michael McCaul, who cosponsored the measure with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Democrat Eliot Engel.
“Specifically, it sanctions Turkish officials involved in the military operation in Syria. It blocks US weapons sales to Turkey that could be used in Syria, and sanctions foreign entities selling such weapons to Turkey. And it sanctions banks supporting Turkey’s defense sector in the Syria campaign,” McCaul said on the House floor.
“Our bill also requires the Administration to develop plans to adjust our counter-terrorism strategy to respond to the changing situation on the ground,” he said. “I’m pleased the Administration heard our call for a residual force in Syria. I can think of nothing more dangerous than withdrawing all of our troops from Syria.”
ON TO THE SENATE: Despite the overwhelming bipartisan vote in the House, the sanction measure faces an uncertain future in the Senate, because of reservations expressed by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
The House bill sends a signal that Congress will not stand by while Turkey and its proxies slaughter our Syrian Kurdish allies and fuel the revival of ISIS,” tweeted Maryland Democrat Chris Van Hollen, who has cosponsored a sanctions measure with Republican Lindsey Graham. “Senate must stop dithering and act—the lives of our allies and our security are at risk.”
TURMOIL IN IRAQ: Anti-government demonstrations in the Iraqi capital and across the country continued for a fifth day yesterday as tens of thousands of Iraqis protested corruption and unemployment.
An analysis by the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War says the demonstrations are threatening the government of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.
“Rumors of an imminent resignation of the Iraqi prime minister emerged after nationalist Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr made a dramatic return to Iraq and joined escalating protests in Najaf,” says ISW’s Jennifer Cafarella. “He and Iranian proxy leader Hadi Al Ameri each released statements pledging to hold a no-confidence vote against the prime minister in the Iraqi parliament.” You can hear more on the ISW’s latest podcast.
Muqtada al-Sadr leads the Iraqi parliament’s largest bloc, while Al-Amiri, whose parliamentary alliance includes Iranian-backed Shia militia the second-largest number of seats in parliament.
WHY ARE SO MANY VETERANS GETTING CANCER? A McClatchy investigation of cancer among veterans during nearly two decades of war shows a significant increase in cancer cases treated by the Department of Veterans Affairs health care system.
The McClatchy investigation, by reporters Tara Copp, Shirsho Dasgupta, and Ben Wieder analyzed billing data obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests for veteran visits involving a cancer diagnosis at VA medical facilities from fiscal year 2000 to 2018.
Among the findings:
- Treatment rates increased 61% for urinary cancers, which include bladder, kidney and ureter cancers
- Blood cancer treatments, lymphoma, myeloma and leukemia, rose 18% percent in the same period
- Liver and pancreatic cancer treatment rates increased 96%
- Prostate cancer treatment rates increased 23%
“Some military families now question whether their exposure to toxic environments is to blame,” the report says.
“When McClatchy presented initial findings to the VA, the agency said it disagreed with McClatchy’s approach that its internal cancer registry system did not show a significant rise,” Coop told the Washington Examiner. “However, when the VA made part of its internal dataset available, an analysis of those cases from 2000 to 2017 also showed increases, including that the number of new blood cancers increased 41 percent, while bladder, kidney and ureter cancers increased 70 percent. Skin cancers have increased 48 percent, brain cancers are up 20 percent.”
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: ‘Danger’: In quest to survive, Syrian Kurds could join Bashar Assad’s military
Washington Post: Dread in northern Syria as U.S. troops withdraw and cease-fire ends
Washington Examiner: Alexander Vindman and twin brother are Ukrainian refugees and Army lieutenant colonels who both now work in Trump White House
Bloomberg: Northrop’s $3 Billion B-2 Upgrades Lagging by Almost Three Years
Air Force Magazine: Directed Energy Weapons Move Closer to Prime Time
AP: Navy upholds sentencing of Navy SEAL for posing with corpse
Washington Post: As protests rattle Iraq, influential Shiite cleric calls to overhaul political system
Defense News: The grades are in for America’s military strength
Military.com: Navy Carrier That Has Been in Middle East Since May Gets Deployment Extended Again
The Drive: Russia Sends Ten Subs Into North Atlantic In Drill Unprecedented In Size Since Cold War
We Are The Mighty: The fastest fighter jet in the world is more than 50 years old
Washington Post: A dog helped kill Baghdadi, joining a long history of canine war heroes
AP: Strasburg, Nats top Astros 7-2, force World Series Game 7
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 30
8:45 a.m. 300 Army Navy Dr., Arl. — The Institute for Defense and Government Advancement Hypersonic Weapons Summit, with Eric Marineau, program officer for hypersonic aerodynamics, heat transfer and materials in the Office of Naval Research. https://www.idga.org/event
9 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. N.E. — Heritage Foundation discussion on a new report, “The 2020 Index of U.S. Military Strength,” with Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa; and Dakota Wood, senior fellow for defense programs at Heritage. http://www.heritage.org
10:30 a.m. — 1211 Connecticut Ave. N.W. Stimson Center discussion on nuclear security, with Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation Christopher Ford. https://www.stimson.org/content/conversation
12:30 p.m. 2425 Wilson Blvd., Arl.— Air Force Maj. Gen. Thomas Murphy, director, Protecting Critical Technology Task Force delivers keynote remarks at Association of the U.S. Army’s Institute of Land Warfare Hot Topic event “Strategic Competition with Russia and China: Implications for U.S. and Allied Ground Forces.” https://www.ausa.org/events
2 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. N.W. — Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion on “The Implications of Deep Fakes,” with Jeanette Manfra, assistant director for cybersecurity in the Homeland Security Department’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; Matt Turek, program manager of Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s Information Innovation Office; Steve Grobman, senior vice president and chief technology officer at McAffee LLC; James Lewis, director of the CSIS Technology Policy Program. https://www.csis.org/events/implications-deep-fakes
5 p.m. White House — President Trump awards the Medal of Honor to Mst. Sgt. Matthew Williams for conspicuous gallantry while serving in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan on April 6, 2008.
THURSDAY | OCTOBER 31
8:15 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. — Brookings Institution discussion on U.S. defense and foreign policy with Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. and Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow at Brookings https://www.brookings.edu/events
2 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. N.W. — Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion on “Syria in the Gray Zone,” with Dana Stroul, co-chair of the Syria Study Group; Michael Singh, co-chair of the Syria Study Group; Ibrahim al-Assil, nonresident scholar at the Middle East Institute; Coner Cagaptay, director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Turkish Research Program; former Lt. Gen. Charles Cleveland, senior fellow in the West Point Combating Terrorism Center; and Jon Alterman, director of the CSIS Middle East Program https://www.csis.org/events/syria-gray-zone
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I have full faith and confidence in the F-35 program and our ability to deliver F-35 combat capability anywhere in the world. Make no mistake: The F-35 is the world’s most advanced, lethal and interoperable aircraft ever developed.”
Ellen Lord, the Pentagon’s undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment announcing orders for 478 F-35 Joint Strike fighters from Lockheed Martin at a cost of $34 billion.
