F-35 JSF Faces New Delays, Additional Costs

Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Pentagon’s costliest program, may see more price increases and new schedule delays of as much as three years, two government officials familiar with the matter said.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is scheduled to be briefed tomorrow on new cost and schedule assessments for the F-35 and other aircraft, said the officials, who requested anonymity because details aren’t public. Software, engineering and flight difficulties are greater than expected, the officials said.

http://www.defencetalk.com/f-35-jsf-faces-new-delays-additional-costs-29838/




UCAV Could Cut UK JSF Buy(<= This remembers me the cancellation of TSR...)

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog:27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post:479cde3a-bbca-4f08-b438-bf1e945b8c0d
The UK's acquisition of Joint Strike Fighters could be reduced if UCAVs become available, Britain's vice-chief of the defense staff said in Washington on Monday.

Speaking at a forum Monday organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Gen Sir Nicholas Houghton said that he was "not in a position to give figures" on the UK's JSF buy, but indicated that the aircraft will be acquired in two tranches (batches), one to equip the carrier and the second to replace Tornado in land-based operations. "We know the numbers that we need for carrier operations but we have not fully identified the number we need for ground-based capabilities."