The House Armed Services Committee’s panel on tactical air and land forces wants the US Comptroller General to file an annual report to Congress on the F-35 strike fighter program’s costs. The language is contained in the panel’s mark-up, released April 30, of the Fiscal 2015 defense authorization bill. If approved, it would require the Comptroller General to review the F-35s acquisition program, and submit a report to Congress no later than April 15, 2015, “and each year thereafter until the F-35 … enters full rate production.” As of today, the joint program office estimates the F-35 will enter full production by 2019. The annual report would include an assessment as to whether the F-35 program is meeting cost projections, schedule, and performance goals. It also would detail results of developmental and operational testing, procurement, and manufacturing changes, as well as any plans the Department of Defense makes to “improve efficiency” of the program, states the mark-up. ?
The U.S. military is sending more fighter jets to the Middle East to step up its war with Iran, adding to what is already the largest buildup of airpower in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. For now, the operation shows little sign of coming to a quick…