Tests of how Lockheed Martin Corp.s F-35 will perform in combat wont begin until at least August 2018, a year later than planned, and more than 500 of the fighter jets may be built before the assessment is complete, according to the Pentagons test office.
These aircraft will require a still-to-be-determined list of modifications to be fully capable, Michel Gilmore, the U.S. Defense Departments top weapons tester, said in his annual report on major programs. However, these modifications may be unaffordable for the services as they consider the cost of upgrading these early lots of aircraft while the program continues to increase production rates in a fiscally constrained environment.
The Defense Department plans a fleet of 2,443 F-35s for the U.S., plus hundreds more to be purchased by allies, including the U.K., Italy, Australia and Japan. The costliest U.S. weapons program, at a projected $391 billion, the F-35 is being produced even as its still being developed, a strategy a top Pentagon official once called acquisition malpractice.
Despite the planes many problems, F-35 production rates have been allowed to steadily increase to large rates, Gilmore said in his annual report to congressional defense committees.
