Pentagon Procurement Chief Critical Of Early F-35 Production

Pilot Mark Ward takes the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter for its first night flight at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., Jan. 18, 2012. (Tom Reynolds/Lockheed Martin)

US Weapons Man: F-35 Fighter Plan Was 'Acquisition Malpractice' -- ABC News

The man now in charge of buying weapons for the U.S. military said that the stealth F-35 Joint Strike Fighter -- one of the most expensive defense programs in U.S. history at three quarters of $1 trillion -- was put in production so prematurely the error amounted to "acquisition malpractice."

"I can spend quite a few minutes on the F-35, but I don't want to," Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's Acting Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, said Monday. "Putting the F-35 into production years before the first test flight was acquisition malpractice. It should not have been done, OK? But we did it, OK?"

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More News On The F-35

Procurement chief knocks early F-35 production -- Air Force Times
Pentagon boss has harsh words for F-35 program and process -- Sky talk
Kendall: Early F-35 Production a Mistake -- Aviation Week
Kendall: Early F-35 Production ‘Acquisition Malpractice’ -- Defense News
Procurement chief knocks early F-35 production -- Navy Times
DoD Procurement Chief: Acquisition Programs Stuck in Cycle of Failure -- National Defense
DOD official--F-35 program "acquisition malpractice" -- Eric Palmer Blog

Lockheed's F-35 fighter jet under renewed pressure -- Reuters
Lockheed's F-35 fighter jet under renewed pressure -- Economic Times

Senators Raise New Questions About F-35; Foreign Partners Waver -- Hartford Courant
Top senators question Pentagon move on fighter jet -- FOX News/AP
Senators question decision to end F-35B's probation -- Star Telegram
Senators: F-35B Probation Lift Premature -- Aviation Week
Top Senators Question DoD Move on Marine F-35 -- Military.com
A letter to Panetta -- Eric Palmer Blog

Britain won't decide on F-35 fighter numbers till 2015 -- Reuters
Britain won't decide on F-35 fighter numbers till 2015 -- Defence Web

F-35 sensors used in military exercise -- UPI
F-35 may fail to meet key requirements -- Korea Times
Lockheed Set To Receive F-35 Orders -- Daily Markets
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Parachute problems fixed on 3 grounded F-35s -- Air Force Times