Cost Growth, or Not?

As a part of planning for the fiscal 2005 defense budget Pentagon comptroller Dov Zakheim has approved a proposal for a cut of 70 aircraft from the early purchases of Lockheed Martin Corp. F-35 Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) and channelise funds for research and development. It is hoped that the axed aircraft would be reinserted elsewhere in the program, thereby maintaining the projected total at 2,443 aircraft. Companies like Northrop Grumman Corp. and Boeing, building prototypes for the Joint Unmanned Combat Aircraft System competition, view the slowdown with some relish since unmanned strike aircraft programs will provide competition for JSF during the manned aircraft's later production lots.