Latest news with #FighterJet
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lions' special teams coordinator Dave Fipp lives his dream in Blue Angels ride-along
Detroit Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said it's always been a dream of his to fly with the Blue Angels. "There's no way this will ever happen," Fipp said about the possibility of ever going up with the famous U.S. Navy squadron. Turns out, there was a way. Advertisement Fipp is a pilot himself and, through a few flying community connections, found himself in the cockpit of a fighter jet. The Lions posted a video on July 4 showing Fipp's ride-along with the Blue Angels in March. Fipp, the son of a Navy pilot, said he grew up watching the Angels perform at air shows in his hometown of San Diego. Fipp suited up and went up for a 45-minute flight in an F-18 Super Hornet at the El Centro naval air facility. "I can't even express in words how grateful I am for the opportunity to fly there... and really just be around those people... totally helped me understand my dad's love for it," Fipp said. Advertisement Fipp joined the Lions in 2021 as special teams coordinator after spending eight seasons in the same role with the Philadelphia Eagles. Under his leadership, the unit has been a key contributor to the team's historic success in recent seasons. This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Lions coach Dave Fipp lives his dream in Blue Angels ride-along
India Today
21-06-2025
- India Today
British F-35 fighter jet's surprise stopover in India explained
An F-35 fighter jet from the British Royal Navy made an emergency landing in Thiruvananthapuram due to a technical snag—and it's still parked there 5 days later. The aircraft, part of drills over the Arabian Sea, triggered memes, aviation chatter, and even diplomatic curiosity. India finds itself host to the world's most advanced (but grounded) jet. Watch this episode of Words of War as Dev Goswami and Sandeep Unnithan decode the F-35, a jet surrounded by controversy. Watch the video to learn more. #F35 #TrivandrumAirport #FighterJet #LockheedMartin #UKRoyalNavy #IndianAirspace #AviationNews #Defence #MilitaryTech #KeralaNews
LBCI
14-06-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
Iran says Israeli strikes targeted fighter jet hangar at Mehrabad Airport
Iran's official news agency reported on Saturday that early morning Israeli strikes targeted a fighter jet hangar at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport. According to the agency, the explosions did not affect the airport's main runways, original buildings, or aviation facilities.
Bloomberg
10-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Key Congressman Questions Hegseth Decision to Slash Test Office
A top House Republican who oversees Pentagon spending expressed surprise and concern about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's order last month to slash nearly half the staff of the Pentagon's test oversight agency, even as the US embarks on major military initiatives including the F-47 fighter and the Golden Dome defensive system. 'This decision is surprising, especially at a time when the test and evaluation community was in the early stages of transforming to meet unprecedented production and fielding requirements,' Representative Ken Calvert of California, chairman of the House defense appropriations subcommittee, told Bloomberg News in a statement.
Reuters
09-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Trump's vision for a twin-engine F-55 fighter jet faces reality check
WASHINGTON, June 9 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's vision of a new, twin-engine version of Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter jet may need to be scaled back due to cost and engineering realities, according to two people familiar with the matter. Speaking in Doha last month, Trump said the new "F-55" would feature "two engines and a super upgrade on the F-35." However, there is a caveat, with Trump saying, "if we get the right price." Trump was not shown a twin-engine redesign of the F-35, the two sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. Developing such a jet would require an extensive overhaul, running into billions of dollars and taking years to complete, the sources said. Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), opens new tab had briefed Trump on a possible upgrade to the F-35 during multiple meetings before the Doha event, the people said. The proposal included just one "advanced" engine, a redesigned nose and forward fuselage, and a new sensor suite. Trump's reference to the "F-55" - the designator of the jet - caught officials and industry insiders off guard, particularly the mention of twin engines, a feature Trump has said he prefers for safety in case one engine fails. Lockheed is exploring the development of two new fighter jet variations, according to industry experts and the two sources. The proposed F-55 emerges against a backdrop of intensifying global competition in military aviation. China continues rapid development of its J-36 and J-50 stealth fighters, while Russia advances its Su-57 program despite economic constraints. After Doha, Lockheed acknowledged Trump's comments with measured enthusiasm, stating, "We thank President Trump for his support of the F-35 and F-22 and will continue to work closely with the Administration to realize its vision for air dominance." A Wall Street analyst tracking what might replace Lockheed Martin's (LMT.N), opens new tab F-35, said "it sounds like Trump has asked DoD to consider a twin-engine variant of the F-35 'if we get the right price,'" according to a note from TD Cowen. Shifting the F-55 to two engines would initiate a costly and lengthy redesign of the F-35's airframe - and while it would make the jet fast, it would delay production by years, industry experts and one of the people said. Lockheed CEO James Taiclet had told investors in an April call that the company was exploring a "fifth-generation-plus" fighter concept that would apply technologies developed for its unsuccessful F-47 bid to enhance the F-35 platform. These new technologies would make it much harder to export the F-55, the people said, adding that they are still highly controlled. "We're basically going to take the chassis and turn it into a Ferrari," Taiclet told analysts in April, claiming such an approach could deliver 80% of next-generation capability at half the cost. Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab beat out Lockheed to win the contract for Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD), now named the F-47 which will be America's first sixth-generation fighter and intended to replace Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor. Because Lockheed lost the NGAD competition it is able to leverage its production plans for new jets. Lockheed had production spaces already lined up, the people said, and the president was made aware the company was poised to move ahead. "Lockheed is much further along than he realized," one of the people said. The timing of the F-55 announcement raises questions about how it fits into existing defense procurement plans and budgets. The Pentagon is already managing multiple high-cost aviation programs, including the ongoing F-35 program, the new F-47 development, and potentially the Navy's next generation carrier-based fighter jet - F/A-XX. For Lockheed Martin, the F-55 concept represents a critical opportunity to maintain relevance in the high-end fighter market after significant setbacks in next-generation competitions. Boeing's NGAD, which was just awarded and therefore is not in mass production yet, is expected to eclipse the F-22's capabilities, and so would F-55, the person said, making it a formidable fighter jet.
