By Emelie Rutherford
The Marine Corps’ top officer told lawmakers yesterday he is closely monitoring development of his service’s variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and hopes to remove the troubled aircraft program from a two-year probation imposed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos stressed that he believes the F-35B, the short-takeoff/vertical-landing variant of the multi-service F-35, is “vital” to his service’s ability to conduct expeditionary operations.
In the Pentagon’s fiscal year 2012 budget request, Gates calls for putting the F-35B on a two-year delay. The aircraft, which has had technical and schedule hiccups, has a Lockheed Martin [LMT] airframe and Pratt & Whitney [UTX] primary engine.
“During the next two years of F-35B scrutiny, I will be personally involved with the program and closely supervising it,” Amos told the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), saying continued support and funding from Congress “is of utmost importance.”
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, testifying alongside Amos at the Capitol Hill budget hearing, described Amos as an F-35B “program officer” who “gets updates on a very frequent and very routine basis.”
Under questioning from Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Amos said he is “optimistic” about the aircraft’s progress.
“It’s my hope that we can get off that (probation period) well before two years,” he said. “And it’s my intent to, sometime this spring, offer to the secretary of defense a set of metrics that he might consider as the threshold for getting the airplane off of probation and getting it back into the regular mindset of production.”
Reed sought assurance that the aircraft has seen its last major schedule change and is “finally on track.”
Amos said he was briefed Monday on the F-35B’s structural issues, bulkheads and weight gain–areas he said “are progressing well.”
“I’m going to pay attention to the aircraft performance, how it’s doing in flight both in vertical and horizontal flight, the weight growth of the airplane, which in a vertical-landing airplane is very critical,” he said. “Right now, we are on a good glide slope in weight growth, and they’re not going to add a pound that I’m not aware of to that airplane. We have to talk about it.” Amos added “engineering challenges and test performance” are on his radar.
Amos and Mabus both told concerned SASC members that the STOVL aircraft has flown 140 percent of its scheduled test flights since the beginning of this year, as well as 200 percent of its scheduled test points. The two Pentagon officials also touted that the F-35B has executed more vertical take offs and landings so far this year than all of last year.
“It’s at least my understanding…that the issues associated with the B version are engineering in nature,” Mabus said. “And the question is whether those engineering issues can be solved inside weight limits and inside financial boundaries, and that that is what we’re concentrating on.”
Amos emphasized he believes the F-35B is vital for use on large-deck amphibious ships.
“This is more than just the Marine Corps,” the general told Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.). “If we lose the F-35B, there is no plan B for fixed-wing airplanes on the large-deck amphibs. Our nation’s capability to project power and influence situations will be cut….And there is no plan B for that….So the F-35B is a requirement. I’m optimistic. What I’m seeing now is very encouraging.”
SASC Ranking Member John McCain (R-Ariz.) expressed frustration with the overall F-35 program and asked Amos for updates on “almost a monthly basis.”
“I hate to keep throwing around the word disgraceful, but the cost overruns and the delays have been unfortunately characteristic of a lot of our acquisitions problems and challenges over the past several years,” McCain said. “So, I know, Gen. Amos, you will keep us informed, but we don’t want to be surprised.”
Also yesterday, Senate leaders agreed to vote today on the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) that would fund the government for the remainder of FY ’11. If that bill does not garner a required 60 votes, the Senate plans to vote on a Senate Appropriations Committee version of the CR. Both resolutions have attached to them full-blown FY ’11 defense appropriations bills. The Senate version would cut President Barack Obama’s proposal for the base defense budget by $17.3 billion, the House version would cut Obama’s proposals by $2.13 billion less. Neither of the two CRs is expected to pass the Senate.