The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program is on track to field the F-35 Lightning II in fiscal 2016, the program’s director said on February 15 2011.
In remarks to the National Aeronautics Association, Vice Admiral David Venlet said that although changes made to the program in January extended flight testing and slowed development by about a year at an additional cost of $4.6 billion, the program has made progress over the past year.
“We’re not spending that amount of money in one year, but it’s the added content across the years to (2016) that consume the $4.6 billion,” VADM Venlet said.
“We have no doubts that achieving fairly high rates of production is obtainable, but it’s going to take some discipline on the way.”
The fiscal 2012 defense budget request submitted this week has little effect on the program, VADM Venlet added.
“There’s no change after (the February 14 budget) announcement, and I believe I’ve got a very stable requirement,” VADM Venlet, who has led the program since May, said.
“We have not changed our inventory objectives.”
VADM Venlet will be in Australia for the Avalon Air Show and no doubt, a demanding schedule of JSF meetings.