Lawmaker wishes to separate the F-35’s Block IV upgrade program from the rest of the project—stated in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act—won’t slow things down, but it will add a lot of cost, Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall said. “It’s a misperception” that making the Block IV a Major Defense Acquisition Program will add delay, but it will add overhead costs, an abundance of new documentation, and “distracts people from managing the program,” said Kendall during a late Tuesday conference call with reporters after an F-35 CEO meeting in Phoenix, Ariz. Such a move would only make the jet more expensive, he said. Kendall also expressed his bafflement by the NDAA language calling for abolition of the F-35 System Program Office in 2019, after the full-rate production decision, and handing its management to the separate services afterwards. “If the JPO is abolished … that would affect coordination with industry partners,” partner nations, and foreign military sales purchasers of the aircraft, he asserted. The F-35 is so complex that “it demands a central organization … and oversight,” he said, noting that the Pentagon is “preparing a formal response” to this language. He also said the SPO is “sized appropriately” and is neither in need of expansion nor deep cuts.
Pentagon Releases Cost of Living, BAH Rates for 2026
Dec. 30, 2025
The Pentagon will pay cost of living allowances to 127,000 service members in the continental U.S. in 2026, an increase of 66,000 members in 2025. Airmen and Guardians across the U.S. will also receive an average increase of 4.2 percent for their Basic Housing Allowance, compared to the 5.4 percent…
