Pentagon still weighing F-35 production decision

Published: Apr 06, 2006
Source: www.defencetalk.com



WASHINGTON: The top U.S. weapons buyer said Wednesday he was still mulling whether to permit an early production start for Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, at $250 billion-plus the Pentagon's costliest planned purchase.

"I'm still thinking about the meeting," said Kenneth Krieg, under secretary of defense for acquisition, of a high-level Pentagon session on Friday that weighed a production timeline.

Krieg spoke to Reuters after the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee heard a stinging indictment of Pentagon weapons-buying -- including as it relates to the F-35 -- from David Walker, head of the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office.

With Krieg testifying at his side, Walker told the panel the office of the secretary of defense "does not seem to be pushing for dramatic and fundamental reforms in its acquisition process" nor making the "tough choices."

"Today we are at a key crossroad," said Walker, whose office serves as Congress's audit and investigative arm. "These costly current and planned acquisitions are running head-on into the nation's unsustainable fiscal path."

The United States is developing the radar-evading F-35 along with Britain and seven other international partners at an estimated cost of $256 billion for the 2,593 aircraft that the United States and Britain plan to buy through 2027.continue..