If the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is going to make low-rate initial production on time, says Lockheed Martin’s Dan Crowley, Congress must approve long-lead LRIP funding for 2006. Discussing the JSF program at the AFA conference Tuesday, Crowley said the Air Force version—the conventional take-off and landing F-35A—is slated to fly late next year. So far, the program is on schedule, making its initial “power on” milestone within the last two weeks.
President Donald Trump on July 4 signed into law $150 billion in defense funds as part of the tax-and-spending package known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” after congressional Republicans approved the legislation in narrow, drawn-out votes earlier this week.
