Speaking at a Brussels media briefing last week, Lockheed Martin CEO Robert Stevens insisted the future of the Joint Strike Fighter project is secure, but he acknowledged that a tight defense budget could lead to a reduction in the planned defense-wide buy of 2,400 aircraft. Stevens maintained, though, that the multinational JSF offers the “best programmatic model to deliver the maximum amount of value.” He believes budget pressures should send the Pentagon and Congress “to look for more, not less value for money.”
President Donald Trump is interested in developing a twin-engined, upgraded version of the F-35 fighter, he said during a press event May 15 in Qatar marking the sale of Boeing airliners and GE Aerospace engines to Qatar Airways. He said he would name the improved aircraft the “F-55” and also…