Air Bosses Boost JSF

By Jay Friess
Editor

The Patuxent Partnership‘s Air Boss Panel, held last night at the Bay District Social Hall in Lexington Park, Maryland, was billed as a look back at Naval Aviation history by the Navy’s top air operations leaders.

An F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter test vehicle hovers over a Pax River runway. (Photo courtesy of US Navy)

But the panelists and the questioners wanted to talk about the future.

The question about the future of military budgets hung thick over the cocktail hour that preceded the event, so Lt. Gen. Terry G. Robling, the Marines’ Deputy Commandant for Aviation, charged it head on once his turn came at the microphone.

“I want to talk a little about the budget,” Robling said. “I know that’s probably on everybody’s mind. … We’re hoping for the best and planning for the worst.”

Robling said the Marines plan to fight for their share of the budget, noting, “Once you give a little, you start giving a lot. … If you don’t want your military to be a hollow force, talk to your representatives.”

The Marines’ largest weapons system program, the short takeoff and vertical landing variant of the F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter, is facing renewed cancellation pressure from the Pentagon after Navy Undersecretary Robert Work told the Navy and Marine Corps in July to find lower-cost alternatives to the fighter. The Pentagon also recently acknowledged that the Marines’ F-35B wing ribs have durability problems.

Vice Adm. Allen G. Myers, commander of Naval Air Forces, dismissed the speculative talk in the press about a possible cancellation of the JSF program.

“There’s a lot of banter about the program struggling,” Myers said. “The Navy is absolutely committed to the F-35C [Navy variant]. … The Super Hornets won’t be around forever.”

Robling said the Marine Corps is also committed to its fighter variant, adding, “It’s on probation, as you know, and the commandant would like it to get off probation.”

Vice Adm. David Architzel, head of Naval Air Systems Command, said, “The [F-35B] brings a unique attribute that cannot be duplicated by the other two variants.”

Rear Adm. Steven Eastburg, Program Executive Officer for Air ASW, Assault & Special Mission Programs, warned against “allowing budget to drive strategy,” noting that such decisions have long-lasting consequences.

“Some of the decisions we’re making today will have vast historical significance,” Eastburg said.

Myers stated that the Navy will have to tell a compelling story to gain support in upcoming budget battles.