Skunk Works Head Discusses F-35’s Future At AIAA AVIATION Forum Written 28 June 2018

Aviation Today reports that Lockheed Martin Advanced Development Programs – also known as “Skunk Works” – head Jeff Babione spoke at the AIAA AVIATION Forum Tuesday on the F-35’s “controversial two-decade history and its path going forward.” Babione led the F-35 program until recently. One of the “most immediate upgrades coming to the F-35 is an automatic ground collision avoidance system,” while Raytheon’s replacement for the Northrop Grumman AN/AAQ-37 distributed aperture system “will gain around five times the resolution in its 360-degree sensor package at a lower cost.” Lockheed is examining “increased integration of AI and machine learning,” including F-35 sensor suite data, and Babione envisioned a potential future wherein a pilot’s view “out of the cockpit is one that is completely augmented.” Babione also addressed the US government’s attention to the “cost to own the F-35 over its entire life-cycle.”
More Info (Aviation Week)
Full Story (Aerospace America, by Ben Iannotta)