Fiscal pressures could force the Navy to buy F-35 Joint Strike Fighters at a rate of anywhere between 12 and 20 jets per year starting in 2020, the commander of naval air forces said Wednesday.Although the Navy has a goal of purchasing 20 F-35s a year once full-rate production starts in 2020, “I think the realities of the budget environment and other priorities inside the Navy may drive something between those two numbers,” said Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker at the…
