
The Defense Department’s chief weapons tester believes the F-35 program’s current schedule of completing system development and demonstration (SDD) and entering initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) by August 2017 is unrealistic and may not take place until as late as August 2018.Michael Gilmore, director of operational test and evaluation (OT&E), said in his annual report released Monday the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) continues to plan for IOT&E in August 2017, three months after the program’s planned completion of…