Two years ago, the two-star officer helping to oversee the nearly $380 billion Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program would have said it "is a marathon, not a sprint." Now he has revised that sentiment. "It's not a marathon—it's a steeplechase," he declares, highlighting the unpredictable nature of such large programs. But USAF Maj. Gen. CD. Moore says the "rapids" of programmatic turbulence in developing the single-engine, stealthy F-35 JSF should become calm in two years. At that time, he expects to have a better grasp of some unknown elements that could drive changes to the design and, potentially, add to the already growing cost of the aircraft. By then, prime contractor Lockheed Martin will have conducted more than one full lifetime of durability testing on the F-35 structure.
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