Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      DOD official discusses F-35 at Farnborough Air ShowPublished July 14, 2014
                    
                    By Jim Garamone
                    
                    
                    DOD News, Defense Media Activity
            **WASHINGTON (AFNS) --**Safety is the first consideration in whether the F-35 Thunderbolt II joint strike fighter appears at the Farnborough Air Show in England this week, a senior Defense Department official said July 14.
The F-35 fleet was grounded July 3 pending an investigation of an engine fire that occurred June 23 on the runway of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
Frank Kendall, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, told reporters at Farnborough that senior Air Force and Navy officers are assessing data to determine the root cause of the fire.
“Hopefully, they’ll be able to come to a conclusion and begin flying again, but we don't want to prejudge that,” he said. “We don’t want to get ahead of it, and we put safety first.”
Even with setbacks like the grounding, the F-35 program is a much more stable program than it was four years ago," Kendall said. “We’ve got a lot more confidence in the design today. We have the costs much more under control than we did four years ago.”
In 2010, the services were only about 10 to 15 percent into the flight test program. Today, it’s up to about 60 percent. 
“It is still a development program,” Kendall said. “We’re still finding things as we go through the testing phase. We’re still finding things that we need to correct and fix, but it’s a much more mature design.”
Cost is a major factor, and Kendall said the new program has brought expenses down, and expects to continue to do so. 
“We’re beating our own projections in terms of production costs year by year,” he said. “So the cost growth that plagued the program in the earlier phase of its cycle, I think, in the production side, is behind us.”
The goal, Kendall said, is to bring the cost of this aircraft down to where it is comparable to that of a fourth-generation aircraft by 2019.
“The biggest opportunity we have to reduce cost is probably in sustainment,” the undersecretary said. “We’re looking at that very closely. We were able to reduce our estimate for future sustainment costs by about 10 percent this year, but there’s a lot more work to be done there, and we think there’s a great opportunity there.”
All of the original partners in the joint strike fighter are still in the program, Kendall said, adding that there are two foreign sales candidates outside the partnership with more expected.
“The reason for that is very simple: this is a quantum improvement in air dominance,” he said. “It’s going to be an aircraft that will set the countries that have it apart from countries that don’t by a significant margin for the next few decades. So that’s why it’s such a valuable investment to us, and that’s why we remain committed.”safety 



Farnborough Air Show in England 



Eglin Air Force Base 



Florida 



F-35 Lightning II

Related Links
        F-35A Lightning II
                                April 11, 2014
                                The F-35A is the U.S. Air Force’s latest fifth-generation fighter. The F-35A will provide next-generation stealth, enhanced situational awareness, and reduced vulnerability for the United States and allied nations. Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                SecAF, CSAF, CMSAF begin Indo-Pacific trip focused on ACE
                    
                    DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fightInnovation
                F-16s arrive to be modified for autonomous testing
                    
                    AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalistsMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil