Pentagon’s F-35 Deputy Chief Blasts Lockheed
By
Bob Brewin
Relations with the defense contractor have deteriorated significantly, Air Force Maj. Gen. Christopher Bogdan says.
Air Force Maj. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, deputy program manager for the troubled $397 billion Joint Strike Fighter program, said his office’s relationship with the plane’s contractor, Lockheed Martin Corp., is “the worst I’ve ever seen,” Bloomberg reported.
Bogdan, speaking at the annual Air Force Association conference yesterday, said, “We have to find a better place to be in this relationship.” He added that he does not intend to ask for any more money for a program whose costs keep growing.
“There is no more money and no more time in the development of this program,” he said. “That is it. We will not go back and ask for any more.”
Such candor is rare and refreshing in Washington, especially after just five weeks on the job. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta tapped Bogdan to head the program after Vice Adm. David Venlet retires later this year. It’s going to be interesting to see how that goes.