Carter: Plan Afoot to Halt F-35 Cost Hikes, Delays

U.S. defense officials expect to finalize by late November a plan to avoid new F-35 cost increases and schedule slips that have been forecast by a Pentagon analysis cell, Ashton Carter, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, said Monday.

In an exclusive interview at the Pentagon, Carter confirmed reports that a Pentagon "joint estimate team" (JET) has determined current program plans would spawn sizeable cost growth and schedule delays after completing an annual review of the triservice, international fighter program.

"The JET II study shows both some cost increases and schedule slips, which we should do everything we can to avoid," Carter said. "Those are forecasts which say what will happen if we don't change what we're doing. And we should change what we're doing so that those predictions don't come fully to pass."

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