Robert Gates: F-35B will be postponed or cancelled

US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates presenterte den økonomiske utviklingens negative effekt på landets økonomi. Han sa bl.a.at F-35B kan bli skrinlagt. Man trenger ikke være forsvarsanlytiker for å ha spådd dette. Det mener jeg vil ha en positiv effekt på hele F-35 programmet og ikke minst A- versjonen som Norge akter å bestille. Les mer om Gates` presentasjon for et øyeblikk siden på http://tinyurl.com/2ewgm9w Her står det bl.a.:
The Joint Strike Fighter program received special scrutiny given its substantial cost, ongoing development issues, and its central place in the future of U.S. military aviation. In short, two of the JSF variants, the Air Force version and the Navy’s carrier based version, are proceeding satisfactorily.

By comparison, the Marine Corps’ short take-off and vertical landing variant is experiencing significant testing problems. These issues may lead to a redesign of the aircraft’s structure and propulsion – changes that could add yet more weight and more cost to an aircraft that has little capacity to absorb more of either.
As a result, I am placing the STOVL variant on the equivalent of a two-year probation. If we cannot fix this variant during this time frame and get it back on track in terms of performance, cost and schedule, then I believe it should be cancelled. We will also move the development of the Marine variant to the back of the overall JSF production sequence. And to fill the gap created from the slip in the JSF production schedule, we will buy more Navy F/A-18s.