
The Pentagon plans to spend $3 billion over the next six years to develop Block 4 upgrades for the F-35, a program so large that it qualifies as a separate major defense acquisition effort within the $1.3 trillion program.As such, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), recommends in a report published April 14 that the Block 4 F-35 follow-on modernization program be managed as a “separate and distinct” program with its own cost, performance and schedule metrics.“DoD does not currently plan…