A purported plan by the Navy and Marine Corps to delay acquisition of their versions of the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as a means to free money in the 2008 budget for other needs sounds like business as usual at the Pentagon. If true, it would undoubtedly raise production havoc and drive up costs. The Air Force’s game plan—a multiyear buy for the F-22 as a hedge against F-35 program delays—begins to look mighty shrewd.
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.