The F-35 is likely to have more growing pains, and as a result, Congress may slow the program down, according to Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), head of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee. Murtha on Wednesday told defense reporters in Washington, D.C., “I’m for the F-35; I’m for a big buy in the F-35, but I’m not necessarily for buying it this year, if it’s not ready.” He said the F-35 may be heading for a stall-out for technical reasons—he didn’t say what they might be—and if so, Congress may apply the brakes. “We haven’t decided it’s quite as bad” as the F-22’s avionics problems near the end of its development, “but it looks like it’s going in that direction.” He added that, even though the F-35 is a priority for the Administration, “we may not fund it at the level they would like.” Murtha said that the issue of fighter procurement is a “major problem” for Congress to deal with, since money is tight but threats are proliferating. However, he feels that adequate inventories of fighters will help prevent wars.
It has been almost exactly one year since the Air Force activated the 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing, the first of its kind, as part of its effort to build back electronic warfare and electromagnetic spectrum capabilities after years of letting them atrophy. And in some ways, the service’s lack of…