Documents detail serious problems with F-35 program

[unhappycamper]

Documents detail serious problems with F-35 program
By BOB COX
[email protected]
Posted Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other Pentagon officials have made it clear in recent weeks that they are unhappy about the F-35 joint strike fighter program.

~snip~

Monthly reports prepared by the Defense Contract Management Agency show that as recently as mid-November, development of the F-35 was in serious disarray. Lockheed Martin and other contractors were producing key components and completing airplanes more slowly, not faster, documents show.

The reports are heavily redacted to prevent disclosure of detailed financial information, but indications of major problems leap off the pages. They include:

Nine flight test aircraft, all of which were to have flown by the end of 2009, were behind schedule by 41/2 to 81/2 months when the report was written, in November. Only one of those planes has flown since then.

The next plane expected to fly is now 11 months behind the schedule that was rewritten in early 2008.


Rest of article about this $239 million (and rising) piece o crap at: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/02/28/2003601/documents-detail-serious-problems.html



unhappycamper comment: If you go to page two of the article, Secretary Gates plans on adding another $2 billion into the development pot in the 2011 military budget. I wonder where that money is coming from?