21 Apr A
Publication
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Naval Strategy and Posture in the Asia-Pacific
F-35 Program Update By Lieutenant General Christopher Bogdan Program Executive Officer F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office Development The F-35 Lightning II is the Department of Defense’s largest acquisition program, and it is of vital importance to Let us begin by discussing the our nation’s security. The F-35 will form development program. As you know, an the backbone of U.S. air combat supeindependent team conducted a thorough technical baseline review riority for decades to come. It in 2010, which allowed for the will replace the legacy tactical re-baselining of the development fighter fleets of the Air Force, and test program in 2011 after Navy and Marine Corps with breaching both the cost and a dominant, multirole, fifthschedule thresholds Congress generation aircraft, capable put in place. Since that realistic of projecting U.S. power and baseline was created, the prodeterring potential adversaries. Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan gram has been executing to it for For our international partners the past four years—on cost and and foreign military sales (FMS) on schedule. customers, who are participating in the Today, the program is nearing the comprogram, the F-35 will become a linchpin pletion of Block 2 software development for future coalition operations and will and is close to completing all flight testing help to close a crucial capability gap that necessary to field our initial warfighting will enhance the strength of our security capability, also known as Block 2B. This alliances. block of capability will deliver to support The F-35 program is executing well the U.S. Marine Corps’ initial operational across the entire spectrum of acquisition, capability (IOC) this summer. Additionally, to include development and design, flight the program has begun flight test with test, production, fielding and base standup, sustainment of fielded aircraft and our Block 3i software. We expect the 3i building a global sustainment enterprise. software, which is the Block 2B capabilIt is indeed a very big, complex, rapidly ity re-hosted on improved hardware, to be growing and accelerating program that is ready by the end of calendar year 2015. moving in the right direction. Our overall The U.S. Air Force will declare IOC with the assessment is that the program is making Block 3i capabilities between August and solid and steady progress on all aspects December 2016. and improving each day. However, this The final block of F-35 development is not to say the program does not have program capability, known as Block risks, challenges and some difficulties, but 3F, is planned for delivery in the fall of we are confident the program will be able 2017. The development of the software to overcome these problems and deliver supporting Block 3F has already begun. on our commitments. Today we will give However, because the program is still usyou a detailed update on the progress that ing the labs and test aircraft to complete both 2B and 3i testing, the 3F software has been made over the past year, providhas yet to begin flight testing. As a result ing a balanced look at where the program stands, pointing out both the accomplishments and the setbacks.
2015
Plus: • SECNAV Innovation Vision • Better Buying Power initiative
By Admiral Samuel J. Locklear, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command
Security Environment The Indo-Asia-Pacific remains one of the most dynamic regions on earth. It is vital to U.S. economic and security interests, and activities in the region will shape Adm. much of our nation’s fuSamuel J. Locklear ture. The region encompasses 52 percent of the earth’s surface and is composed of 83 percent water and 17 percent land. Over half of the people on the planet reside on that 17 percent of land, and by the middle of the century, the Indo-Asia-Pacific region will potentially contain 70 percent of the world’s population. This high population density coupled with destabilizing factors such as natural disasters, climate change, ideological radicalism and population migration will continue to put immense pressure on regional governments. Contained in the 36 nations in USPACOM’s area of responsibility are the world’s two largest economies after the United States (China and Japan), and five smallest economies. The region also contains the world’s most populous nation (China), the largest democracy (India), the largest Muslim-majority (Indonesia) and the smallest republic (Nauru). It contains seven of the 10 largest standing militaries, five nuclear nations and five of the United States’ seven mutual defense treaty alliances. The socioeconomic diversity and population density throughout the USPACOM area of responsibility (AOR) create strategic longterm challenges. These challenges include: political instability, social inequality, poverty,
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April 21, 2015