House lawmakers aim to cut F-35 buy as patience with delays wears thin
By Stephen Losey
May 13, 2024, 07:26 PM
A proposed House policy bill would slash the number of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters the Pentagon would buy in fiscal 2025 as lawmakers’ patience with the program and manufacturer Lockheed Martin wears thin.
The Pentagon’s proposed FY25 budget called for buying 68 of the fifth-generation fighter — 42 F-35As for the Air Force, plus 13 F-35Bs and 13 F-35Cs for the Navy and Marine Corps.
But the chairman’s mark of the House Armed Services Committee’s proposed FY25 National Defense Authorization Act would first cut that purchase to 58 jets. On top of that, the Pentagon would not be allowed to accept delivery of 10 of those jets until the defense secretary certifies to lawmakers that several problems with the F-35 are fixed.
That means that at least at first, the Pentagon would only receive 48 jets in all next year.
https://www.defensenews.com/congress/budget/2024/05/13/house-lawmakers-aim-to-cut-f-35-buy-as-patience-with-delays-wears-thin/
