That’s how Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morell described the latest analysis of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program by the Joint Estimating Team. Press reports have circulated (first from Inside Defense) that the new assessment essentially confirms that the cost and schedule problems found last year still persist. At the Pentagon late last week, Morrell refused to get into specific numbers “because numbers can change” since “the analysis continues.” However, he confirmed that Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter—but not Defense Secretary Robert Gates—had received the first of three briefings on the latest JET work. Morrell called the JET analysis “important” to the budget process, but he also said it offered a “worst-case assessment” while the program office is “generally much more optimistic.” Continue
SDA Director Tournear Departing on Eve of Crucial Launch
Sept. 8, 2025
Derek M. Tournear, the head of the Space Development Agency that spearheaded the trailblazing push to buy and launch small satellites at a speed and scale unseen in military space circles, is departing the organization for a job in academia just before a momentous launch.
