At least one senior Pentagon official has decided to openly chastise lawmakers who would imperil DOD’s Joint Strike Fighter plans—specifically the elimination of a second engine maker and the buy approach. Acquisition chief Ken Krieg told Reuters news service that the unified front by Capitol Hill to restore funding for a second F-35 engine could force the services to reduce how many fighters they can buy. And, on point 2, Krieg told Reuters that slowing the program—effectively the result of a move by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to cut $1.2 billion in 2007 from JSF—would negatively affect suppliers and the program’s international partners.
Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held meetings with defense leaders from the Philippines, Japan, and South Korea during a trip to the Indo-Pacific this week.