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.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth vowed to undertake far-reaching reforms on the way the U.S. military buys weapons, promising a sweeping overhaul of the way the Defense Department determines requirements, handles the acquisition process, and tests its kit. The fundamental goal, which Hegseth underscored in a 1-hour and 10-minute speech…
