Speaking at a Brussels media briefing last week, Lockheed Martin CEO Robert Stevens insisted the future of the Joint Strike Fighter project is secure, but he acknowledged that a tight defense budget could lead to a reduction in the planned defense-wide buy of 2,400 aircraft. Stevens maintained, though, that the multinational JSF offers the “best programmatic model to deliver the maximum amount of value.” He believes budget pressures should send the Pentagon and Congress “to look for more, not less value for money.”
The Pentagon plans to use U.S. Air Force C-17s and C-130s to deport 5,400 people currently detained by Customs and Border Protection, officials announced Jan. 22, the first act in President Donald Trump’s sweeping promise to crack down on undocumented immigrants and increase border security.