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By   Theresa Hitchens on May 13, 2021 at 5:15 PM WASHINGTON: The F-35 Joint Program Office is still evaluating when the fighter will formally clear its 20-year development phase after a new expert study of testing requirements, says JPO Director Lt. Gen. Eric Fick. However, officially passing through ‘milestone C’ into full-rate production may not matter that much, Fick told the annual McAleese defense conference today.  It will do little to change either how fast planes are already being built or how deeply involved the JPO and acquisition leaders at DoD and the services will remain ...

By   Theresa Hitchens on April 26, 2021 at 5:08 PM An Air Force maintainer plugs into the F-35 to perform pre-flight checks. WASHINGTON: DoD is considering how the services might take over more of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s maintenance chores from Lockheed Martin in order to reduce costs. The study of future sustainment options is one of a number of efforts by DoD’s F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO), prime contractor Lockheed Martin and engine-maker Pratt & Whitney to get a handle of the program’s myriad issues. These range the jet’s sky high operating costs, to chronic spare pa...

By   Theresa Hitchens on January 14, 2021 at 4:14 PM F-35 WASHINGTON: The F-35 fighter jet’s exorbitant life-cycle costs means the Air Force cannot afford to buy as many aircraft as it needs to fight and win a war today, which makes the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program all the more important, says outgoing Air Force acquisition czar Will Roper. “I think the F-35 program is a long way from being at a sustainment point that we need. I think it’s a long way from being an affordable fighter that we can buy in bulk,” he told reporters today. “That’s the reason why Next-G...