Source: Lockheed Martin.
Martin Matishak, Fiscal Times: Congress Showers the F-35 Program with Cash
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is a big winner in the newly-minted $1.1 trillion government spending bill.
The Obama administration requested about $11 billion in fiscal 2016 to buy 57 planes, up from the 44 manufacturer Lockheed Martin is building this year.
The sweeping funding bill, which could pass both chambers of Congress as soon as Friday, includes an additional $1.3 billion so the Pentagon can buy an additional 11 fighters, for a total of 68 in 2016.
That’s quite a vote of confidence for a program that has cost taxpayers around $400 billion to date, making it the most expensive weapon in U.S. history.
The program’s latest glitch was uncovered earlier this year when the Pentagon learned the fifth-generation airplane’s ejection seat could cause fatal whiplash for pilots weighing under 136 pounds, even though the seat was supposed to handle pilots weighing between 103 and 245 pounds.
Update: Congress offers Christmas cheer to F-35 and F/A-18 programmes (Flight Global)
WNU Editor: That is a huge vote of confidence in a fighter jet that has been beset with multiple problems.
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