GAO (Yawn) Urges Delay on JSF Authorizations: In its second annual report on the Joint Strike Fighter Program, the Government Accountability Office called on Congress to delay authorizations and appropriations for the fighter pending development of a new business case. The GAO claims DOD is putting too much money into the program before flight testing proves the investment will pay off. The auditors cited the overlap of production investment and testing timelines. The green eyeshades at GAO routinely make these recommendations. DOD replied that it believes its current practices achieve the results sought by GAO.
A record investment in research and development by the Department of the Air Force will help the United States win the long-term technology race with China, even while shrinking the fleet size before a possible mid-decade Taiwan contingency, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said May 17. “With the Air Force,…