- Filed Under
Leon Panetta backs Joint Strike Fighter program: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the F-35B variant of the Joint Strike Fighter was coming off its probation during a Jan. 20 appearance at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. (Defense Department video)
More
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta reiterated his strong support on Jan. 26 for all three variants of the tri-service F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), but said that production needs to be slowed down in order to allow for more testing and account for design changes.
A document released with the secretary’s budget outline says that the Pentagon is “committed to the JSF program of record that includes all three variants, but slowed procurement to complete more testing and make developmental changes to minimize concurrency issues before buying in significant quantities.”
Lockheed Martin spokeswoman Jennifer Whitlow said the company will work with the Pentagon to implement his vision for the jet.
“We appreciate Secretary Panetta’s strategic approach to developing FY2013 budget recommendations based on rigorous analysis of global security challenges and evolving threats,” she said. “Over the coming weeks, we will work closely with our DoD customers to understand the details of recommendations and the impacts on our business. While we will gain additional details about specific program funding levels in the budget as more information becomes available, we continue to believe the new security strategy and budget priorities align exceedingly well with our portfolio and our experience.”
Whitlow also voiced support for the Defense Department maintaining the total number of F-35s to be bought domestically.
“In addition, we appreciate Secretary Panetta’s continued support of the critical need for 5th generation technology and his commitment to the F-35 program of record — including all three variants and a total procurement of 2,443 domestic aircraft,” she said.
