The Pentagon is slowing down testing and acquisition of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz acknowledged Wednesday.
The path we were on was too aggressive, so theres an effort underway to reduce concurrency, to lengthen the period associated with testing, to increase the number of test assets and make the production rate somewhat less ambitious, Schwartz said during a briefing with reporters in Washington.
The F-35 will be ready for initial operational capability with the Air Force in 2013, Schwartz said.
While it would have been ideal to go without adjustment, there are very few programs of this sophistication that Im aware of that have not required some adjustment, said Schwartz. This is in the larger interest of the larger attack community that will rely on the jet.
He said the adjustment is meant to ensure that large numbers of F-35s can be built problem-free when it comes time to replace U.S. and allied fighter fleets toward the end of the decade.
Schwartz added that he did not think the jet was going to breach the Nunn-McCurdy statutes limits on cost growth in weapon programs.
AF chief: F-35 testing, acquisition will slow - Navy News, news from Iraq - Navy Times
After the cancellation of follow-on orders for the F-22 and now with the decision to slow down production of the F-35 which was used as the excuse to cancel the F-22 in the first place, this decision will serve to highlight the serious aging issue with the current fleet of US aircraft.
The path we were on was too aggressive, so theres an effort underway to reduce concurrency, to lengthen the period associated with testing, to increase the number of test assets and make the production rate somewhat less ambitious, Schwartz said during a briefing with reporters in Washington.
The F-35 will be ready for initial operational capability with the Air Force in 2013, Schwartz said.
While it would have been ideal to go without adjustment, there are very few programs of this sophistication that Im aware of that have not required some adjustment, said Schwartz. This is in the larger interest of the larger attack community that will rely on the jet.
He said the adjustment is meant to ensure that large numbers of F-35s can be built problem-free when it comes time to replace U.S. and allied fighter fleets toward the end of the decade.
Schwartz added that he did not think the jet was going to breach the Nunn-McCurdy statutes limits on cost growth in weapon programs.
AF chief: F-35 testing, acquisition will slow - Navy News, news from Iraq - Navy Times
After the cancellation of follow-on orders for the F-22 and now with the decision to slow down production of the F-35 which was used as the excuse to cancel the F-22 in the first place, this decision will serve to highlight the serious aging issue with the current fleet of US aircraft.
