Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan Takes A 'Jab' At The F-35

A formation of F-35 Lightning IIs from the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings stationed at Hill Air Force Base perform aerial maneuvers during a combat power exercise over Utah Test and Training Range, Nov. 19, 2018. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Cory D. Payne

Business Insider: Pentagon chief appears to throw shade at the F-35 in thinly-veiled jab

* Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan seemed to take a thinly-veiled jab at the F-35 during a press briefing Tuesday.
* Responding to accusations that he is biased towards Boeing, where he worked for three decades, Shanahan stressed that he focused on performance and making sure the taxpayers get their money's worth.
* The F-35 "has a lot of opportunity for more performance," he said, doubling down on his criticism of the Lockheed Martin's F-35, which the Pentagon is set to spend over $1 trillion on.

Acting Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan took a swipe at the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter in a off-camera briefing at the Pentagon Tuesday.

Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, has been accused of bias toward his former company, which lost the bid for the development of a fifth-generation stealth fighter jet to competitor Lockheed Martin.

"Am I still wearing a Boeing hat? I think that's just noise," the acting secretary said Tuesday, responding to the allegations. But, then he took a thinly-veiled jab at the F-35.

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WNU Editor: Lockheed Martin's CEO responds .... Lockheed Martin CEO defends F-35 Joint Strike Fighter after criticism from acting defense secretary (The Washington Post).