AWST - 31 Oct:
Pentagon leaders are considering the fate of the JSF... in the Quadrennial Defence Review. Under the then Chief of Staff Gen John Jumper's watch, the Air Force was considering the idea of buying the STOVL variant and diminishing its buy of CTOL F-35s. Only weeks after succeeding Jumper, however, Gen T Michael Moseley is mulling a an all-CTOL buy. In the meantime, observers say acting Deputy Defence Secretary Gordon England may be looking to kill one JSF variant as a way to curb the increasing cost of procurement effort....
With the USN and USAF and overseas orders for the A and C, and the adding complexity and differences, the B is the logical model to go. The USMC can just go back to using the main USN carriers.
What, however, does it say about the UK $2 Bn investment and Rolls-Royce involvement?
Not a lot back for our money....