Defense Department acquisition chief Frank Kendall has said DoD and its industry partners continue to make progress in all aspects of the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter program, DoD News reported Thursday.Lisa Ferdinando writes Kendall offered reporters an update on the program after the annual F-35 roundtable meeting among top defense officials and CEOs of the program’s contractors Tuesday in Phoenix, Arizona.
“We remain focused on the sustainment part of the program,” he told reporters during a conference call.
“Increasingly, in fact, we’re turning our emphasis to that because that is where we still see opportunity to further reduce cost,” he added, according to the publication.
Lockheed Martin acts as the primary F-35 contractor, while BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman serve as Lockheed’s principal partners in the project.
Kendall told DoD News the F-35 Joint Program Office will evolve as efforts related to the stealth fighter aircraft change.
“There will be a move toward follow-on development [and] continued modernization of the aircraft, which will occur throughout its life,” he noted.
