The initial flight of the first production Lockheed Mar- tin F-35 Lightning Ⅱ Joint Strike Fighter, scheduled for December, will launch an intense, six-year, 12,000- hr. test phase due to end in late in 2012. The flight may help quell concerns from international partners about program delays and cost growth. In the wake of the U.S. Navy's tentative plans to defund the F-35B short takeoff vertical landing version (Stovl) in Fiscal 2008, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England recently told Navy and U.S. Air Force leaders to find ways to "reenergize" the military's dedication to the program.
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