USAF Chief Downplays JSF Testing Delay

Aviation Week and Space Technology ^ | 1/21/2010 | Amy Butler

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

A testing delay for the F-35 program will prompt an increase in the per-unit cost of the stealthy single-engine fighter “for a period,” says the U.S. Air Force chief of staff, Gen. Norton Schwartz.

Schwartz says the boost will not, however, be enough to breach requirements under the Nunn-McCurdy reporting law, which triggers a mandatory Pentagon review of alternatives and notification of Congress in cases of a significant cost and schedule overrun.

The chief says the delay, which he only described as not lasting “multiple years,” was necessary. Government officials have indicated that completing testing could take up to 30 months more than planned; the current timeline is to wrap up testing in 2014. (See related story p. 3.) Schwartz declined to outline the specific duration of the delay, and said it would be revealed in the fiscal 2011 budget, which will be released Feb. 1.

“The path we were on was too aggressive,” Schwartz told reporters Jan. 20 during the 38th IFPA-Fletcher Conference on National Security, Strategy and Policy. He said the restructuring was needed to reduce the concurrency of development and production, lengthen the testing period and boost the number of test assets available. It also will result in a “less ambitious” production ramp-up, he says.

The F-35 program is “far better off than the F-22 at a similar time” in its development, Schwartz said. Both aircraft are manufactured by teams led by Lockheed Martin.

Schwartz acknowledges that the international partners in the Joint Strike Fighter development, as well as would-be foreign customers, “have an interest” in the outcome of the program. Some customers are still considering alternatives to the fighter, and a slip may push them away from immediate purchases.

[Red Steel]

On a side note. It’s a good bet the F-22 Raptor will be revived in next years budget after the Dems lose Congress.