Sue Payton, the Air Force’s top acquisition official, says the Air Force may have a “new plan” that would save the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, according to Rebecca Christie of Dow Jones Newswires (article via CNNMoney.com). JASSM faces the chopping block after recent test failures. In fact, Payton told Pentagon reporters last month that problems with navigation system reliability were leading the service to seek other options. Payton told Christie that the Air Force is working with JASSM-maker Lockheed Martin to develop a “proactive, preventive plan where things aren’t going to break as much as they have.”
Air Force depots are not typically meant for quick repair jobs, but during Operation Epic Fury, the service moved some of its stateside heavy maintenance capability forward to fix battle-damaged aircraft closer to the fight.
