Dan Crowley, Lockheed Martin’s general manager for the F-35 strike fighter, will stay on in his job, company CEO Robert Stevens said Thursday, thereby settling weeks of speculation ever since the Pentagon fired its F-35 program manager over schedule slips and cost increases in the program. Stevens, speaking via telecon to reporters following an annual summit of the F-35 partner nations, said he has bolstered his F-35 management team with many new “subject matter experts” and replaced some others. But Crowley isn’t one of them. “I have known and worked with Dan for a very long time now and find him to be an extraordinarily dedicated and talented complete executive, very much grounded in the kind of integrity and ethics in business conduct that I personally admire,” Stevens said. He added, “I have absolute confidence in him in this role.” (See From 30 to 13 above)
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.