The F-35 Lightning II faces a potential $1.2 billion cut in its budget for the next fiscal year. In its recently approved 2007 Defense Appropriations bill, the Senate Appropriations Committee decided to delay production for one year. (The panel approved $81 billion in overall Pentagon procurement). The appropriators, who have the authority to fund or not fund projects authorized by the Senate Armed Services Committee, cited what they viewed as unnecessary concurrency in the production and testing of the F-35, according to the committee’s report. The committee wants to see the airframe structure and design validated through flight testing before continuing with procurement, citing the possibility of cost increases and schedule delays. The Pentagon seems certain to fight the cut in later rounds of the debate.
The Air Force will finish restructuring the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program by the end of this year, achieve its first test launch of the ICBM by 2027, and reach initial operational capability by the early 2030s.
