Fewer F-35s will be needed, a top defense official predicts

Posted on: Feb. 9th, 2006 || Source: dfw.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. military will likely need fewer joint strike fighters than previously projected because of future advances in the warplane's capabilities and the planned expansion of the military's fleet of unmanned aircraft, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England said Wednesday.

England, a former Fort Worth aerospace executive, led the Pentagon's just-released Quadrennial Defense Review designed to reshape U.S. strategy over the next 20 years. He also oversaw deliberations on the 2007 defense budget that President Bush sent to Congress on Monday.

In an interview in his Pentagon office, England said the total number of joint strike fighters -- now projected at 2,443 for the Air Force, Navy and Marines -- "will come down" over the decades-long life of the program. He envisioned a similar trend in other acquisition programs.

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