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nit cost for the Joint Strike Fighter could increase by $12 million to $16 million if the Pentagon has to slow production in the early years, Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles Davis, the program manager, told Reuters news service. Senate appropriators have just opted to delay production by a year, and that early delay, says Davis, would hurt most. Some lawmakers believe the program is running too concurrently, essentially as a buy-before-test enterprise. However, Davis said earlier this summer that he has never seen a program at this stage with such mature development. This issue is not closed, with House and Senate lawmakers due to iron out differences in their versions of the 2007 defense spending bill, but both chambers appear willing to slow the F-35. (Read more about the state of the JSF program in our September article “Struggling for Altitude.”)
The United States Air Force is flying less than historic norms and funding for acquisition and readiness is on a path to further hollow out this too small and old force to that is incapable of sustaining an enduring combat air campaign.
