
The Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense panel (SAC-D) approved a $675-billion fiscal year 2019 defense appropriations bill June 26 that would fund 89 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, 12 more than the Trump administration requested.The Marine Corps and Navy would get a total of 41 F-35Bs and F-35Cs, up from the request for 29 jets, according to a bill summary. The Air Force’s request for 48 F-35As would be unchanged. Increasing the overall quantity would help achieve economies of scale and reduce the per-aircraft…