The Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense panel said it remains concerned that the concurrency in the developmental testing and production of the F-35 strike fighter could necessitate costly upgrades to early production aircraft later on, and ultimately might jeopardize the future of the entire program. Accordingly, the panel reduced funding for the F-35 program by $695 million next fiscal year in its mark-up of the Pentagon’s Fiscal 2012 budget request last week. It also decided to keep F-35 production rates at Fiscal 2011 levels. The panel also zeroed out the $145.8 million requested for the A-10 wing replacement program, which it said is “significantly” delayed, according to the panel’s report accompanying the Senate’s version of the Fiscal 2012 defense appropriations bill. Click here to continue to the full story. (SAC-D report; caution, large-sized file.)
When the 119th Congress took office in January 2025, it counted a record seven former Navy SEALs among its members—and just one former Air Force fighter pilot. Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), a former F-15 and F-22 pilot, says that must change to help the Air Force get the resources it…
