Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) prior to the election ripped Defense Secretary Ashton Carter for “yet another delay” in the F-35’s completion of system development and demonstration (SDD) with a potential cost overrun of more than $1 billion.
In a Nov. 3 letter, McCain was most disturbed that Pentagon leaders like Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) Michael Gilmore foresaw this latest delay and cost overrun while Air Force leadership ignored it. McCain said Gilmore warned as early as last year of delays in completion of the development phase for F-35, which he said is a prerequisite for beginning OT&E. McCain said Gilmore also testified in April that the F-35 would not be ready to begin OT&E until mid-calendar year 2018 at the earliest.
On the other hand, McCain said F-35 Program Executive Officer (PEO) Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan testified that development would wrap up in late 2017. McCain said Bogdan also testified that while the schedule to complete development may slip, completion of the phase would require no additional money. McCain said both statements appear to be inaccurate.
McCain was upset with a couple of statements from Air Force Secretary Deborah James and top Air Force acquisition officer Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch. McCain said James certified to the committee that low-rate initial production (LRIP) Lot 10, to be delivered in January 2018, would have full Block 3F hardware, software and weapons carriage. McCain said Bunch also certified that adequate money was available to complete Block 3F development. McCain said this latest delay and cost overrun seems to undermine these certifications.
Spokespeople from neither the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) nor McCain’s office returned requests for comment by press time. The F-35 is developed by Lockheed Martin [LMT] with subcontractors BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman [NOC].