Friday, November 12, 2010

Marine F-35 variant need questioned

The co-chairmen of the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform issued a series of draft proposals to cut government spending, including buying fewer F-35 Joint Strike Fighters for the Air Force and Navy and eliminating the Marine Corps’ variant. The document is just a proposal, and it remains to be seen what gets into the final set of recommendations due Dec. 1. (Source: Project on Government Oversight, 11/10/10) InsideDefense.com, citing DoD sources, reports that senior defense leaders are considering a restructuring of the F-35 program that would eliminate the Marine variant and accelerate the development of the Air Force and Navy variants. (Source: InsideDefense (subscription), 11/12/10) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., will be the home of a JSF training center.