While it is significantly different enough to warrant a separate designation, the swept wing Republic F-96 Thunderstreak is redesignated F-84F. Air Force is having difficulty in securing funding from Congress for a new aircraft, and the service believes it will be easier to get appropriations to continue an “existing” program.
Lockheed Martin projects more than a billion dollars of losses on a classified program, but company officials said April 23 they are confident it will turn profitable by 2028 and become a "franchise" system in the U.S. military.