Pentagon says not worried about F-35 costs/orders 'death spiral'

The Air Force general who runs the Pentagon's $392 billion F-35 program on Tuesday said he was fairly optimistic the new Lockheed Martin Corp fighter jet would survive the next round of U.S. budget cuts, but said he was determined to continue lowering its cost.

Air Force Lieutenant General Chris Bogdan told the annual Air Force Association conference the F-35 program was making slow but steady progress, and that he saw strong continued support from the U.S. military services and foreign partners.

Given that support, he said he no longer worried that the F-35 program would be afflicted by a so-called "death spiral" in which cuts in orders trigger rising prices that lead to further cuts in orders and ultimately undermine the program.

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