F-35 fighter jet program 'plagued' by troubles, US senator tells Pentagon

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley asked newly confirmed Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Thursday about cost overruns and technical issues that have "plagued" the Pentagon's high-priced F-35 fighter jet program.

The Department of Defense failed to keep adequate records on the program's costs and installed parts that were not ready for use, according to reports from the Pentagon's inspector general in March and June.

These shortfalls, Grassley said in a letter to Esper, have resulted in "financial waste and further delays to the mission readiness" of the plane and have "potentially jeopardized the lives" of pilots who fly the F-35.

The Pentagon's Joint Program Office, which manages the F-35 program, did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Lockheed Martin Corp, the lead contractor for the program, said in a statement that it "looks forward to partnering with" the Joint Program Office as the Pentagon adjusts procedures to address the reports.

Lockheed also said it manages all government property records in accordance with its contracts.

The Lockheed parts installed by the Pentagon were not ready for installation because they lacked electronic records, the inspector general said in June. Defense Department employees instead turned to keeping manual records, the June report said.

Installing the parts inflated the flying time of "mission-ready" planes, and in turn inflated the incentive fees paid to Lockheed by the Defense Department for mission-ready flying hours, the June report said.

The Joint Program Office knew about the issue, but "did not take adequate steps" to resolve it, Grassley said, citing the June report.

An earlier report in March found the Pentagon "does not know the actual value" of government-purchased F-35 property because it failed to keep an independent record, leaving Lockheed and its subcontractor with the only record of the property, which Lockheed valued at $2.1 billion.

The Department of Defense has no mechanism to verify Lockheed's record, the March report said.

As long as these issues remain, they will "continue hemorrhaging money" from the program and threaten the planes' readiness and safety, Grassley noted.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Israel gets F-35 fighter jets

NEVATIM AIR BASE, Israel - Israel on Monday became the first country after the United States to receive the U.S.-built F-35 stealth jet which will increase its ability to attack distant targets, including Iran.

The much-hyped arrival of the first two fighter jets was overshadowed by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's tweet that Lockheed Martin's whole F-35 project was too expensive , and the delivery was delayed for hours by bad weather preventing their take-off from Italy.

The squadron is expected to be the first operational outside the United States. The planes are the first of 50, costing around $100 million each.

"Our long arm has now become longer and mightier," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Nevatim air base in the southern Negev desert.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, also attending the ceremony which was delayed until after dark, said the planes were critical to maintaining Israel's military edge in the region.

A U.S. squadron of the planes, which have suffered delays and cost overruns, became operational in August. The F-35 program is the Pentagon's largest weapons project.

"The F-35 program and cost is out of control," Trump said on Twitter, sending Lockheed Martin's shares down 4 percent.

Jeff Babione, Lockheed Martin's F-35 program leader, said the company understood concerns about affordability and had invested millions of dollars to try to reduce its price.

Israel, which finalized a 10-year, $38 billion arms deal from the United States this year, plans to maintain two F-35 squadrons.

Critics of the plane say it can carry a smaller weapons payload and has a shorter range than Israel's current squadrons of U.S.-built F-15s and F-16s.

But some experts say the F-35's stealth capabilities make up for this because it can be more accurate and fly a more direct route to its target. Israel's air force mostly flies missions close to home, in the Gaza Strip and against arms shipments to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria.

It is also believed to have carried out bombings in Sudan against arms shipments to Palestinian militants, and to have drawn up contingency plans against Iranian nuclear facilities.

Israel initially ordered 33 of the fighters but signed off on another 17 last month.

Nimrod Shefer, a retired Israeli air force major-general, said the new aircraft were a welcome addition.

"(There are) very low- to very high-altitude missiles ... and targets that are becoming more and more difficult to detect and to destroy," he said. (Writing by Ori Lewis and Maayan Lubell; Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Robin Pomeroy)

source: news.abs-cbn.com