How did the F-35 program turn around the opinion of President Donald Trump, who before his inauguration said the program was too expensive and “out of control” but recently has spoken of it favorably? “What I think came out” of several discussions with the President, was “his desire to learn more about the program, which is good,” and “to get good value” from the program, said program executive officer Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan at a McAleese/Credit Suisse conference Wednesday. “We got a chance to address some of the misperceptions” that Trump seems to have retained from early in the program, when it was having serious trouble. A lot of which continue to be related by critics as recent news. “Given that opportunity, we were able to explain the importance” of the F-35, Bogdan related.
The Air Force is targeting August 2027 for its new T-7A Red Hawk trainer jet to reach its initial operational capability. To get there, the head of Air and Education Training has three milestones he needs to see the program hit.
