NEW YORK An F-16 equipped with an axisymmetric, pitch/yaw thrust-vectoring engine nozzle developed by General Electric was expected to make its first flight from Lockheed facilities in Ft. Worth, Tex., late last week. The flight, which is scheduled to be made by Lockheed's Joe Sweeney and USAF Maj. Mike Gerzanics, will mark the beginning of a planned three-phase, four-year USAF effort aimed at evaluating the utility of pitch/yaw vectoring nozzles developed by General Electric and Pratt & Whitney (AW&ST Jan. 25, p. 67).

WASHINGTON The Pentagon's acquisition chief plans to extend the deadline for contracting teams to prepare their entries in the JPATS competition by two to three months, essentially allowing late entry Cessna to compete with a modified version of its CitationJet.