Joint Chiefs Chairman Concerned by F-35 Cost

12:00 AM, October 14, 2011
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The new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs on Thursday cast new doubt on the troubled F-35 fighter program, saying fielding three variants could prove too expensive. Gen. Martin Dempsey, just weeks into the job of the military’s top general, told the House Armed Services Committee he is committed to a “fifth-generation fighter” — but he did not refer to the F-35 specifically. Dempsey then questioned the cost of the current plans, under which the Pentagon is building three variants for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and a list of foreign partners. He told the committee he is “concerned about the three variants,” questioning whether, as annual Defense Department budgets shrink, the military “can afford all three.” “Three variants creates some fiscal challenges for us,” Dempsey said bluntly.

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