The Air Force and Lockheed Martin appear to have worked out a plan that would cure Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile test misfires and put it back on sound financial footing. Richard Burnett of the Orlando Sentinel reports that USAF and Lockheed will jointly finance a get-well plan through March 2008, when the Air Force must finally decide whether to proceed with procurement. Lockheed told the Sentinel that it has “solved the glitches that cause the test misfires.” Earlier this month, Sue Payton, USAF’s top acquisition official, told Dow Jones Newswires that the service was working with the company on a “preventive plan,” signaling the Pentagon had granted a reprieve from termination.
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
