More than 300 active duty and reserve airmen who were deployed to Southwest Asia from assignments at Keesler AFB, Miss., are being sent home early to help their families and help rebuild the devastated base. Another 100 airmen scheduled to deploy will remain at the Mississippi base.
Contracts for F-35 airframes in Lot 18 and 19 should be signed in the spring, but an engine deal is still not in hand and could take months longer. The delays don't seem to be driven by anticipation of how the new Trump administration will influence the program.