Pe 26 ianuarie, intr-o declaratie publica, Secretarul Apararii al SUA Leon Panetta, a pus capat tuturor zvonurilor legate de o posbila abandonare da catre Pantagon a programului JSF. Astfel Secretarul Apararii a declarat ca ministerul sau este foarte hotarat sa sustina F-35 in toate cele trei variante constructive programate, cu toate problemele aparute pe durata dezvoltarii aparatului.
De asemenea Panetta a mai declarat ca este necesara o reducere a vitezei de implementare (productie) a F-35, in ideea de a se putea remedia problemele aparute pana acum, probleme catalogate de Pentagon ca fiind normale, in acest stadiu de dezvoltare. Intr-o declaratie oficiala a Pentagonului se sustine exact aceeasi termeni : “…committed to the JSF program of record that includes all three variants, but slowed procurement to complete more testing and make developmental changes to minimize concurrency issues before buying in significant quantities.”
Lockheed Martin spune si ea ca este total de acord cu viziunea Aparaii si ca va conlucra cu foarte multa tenacitate, alaturi de Armata, pentru remediera problemelor aparute: “We appreciate Secretary Panetta’s strategic approach to developing FY2013 budget recommendations based on rigorous analysis of global security challenges and evolving threats,” she said. “Over the coming weeks, we will work closely with our DoD customers to understand the details of recommendations and the impacts on our business. While we will gain additional details about specific program funding levels in the budget as more information becomes available, we continue to believe the new security strategy and budget priorities align exceedingly well with our portfolio and our experience.”, declara purtatoarea de cuvant a companiei, Jennifer Whitlow.
De asemenea zvonurile care dadeau ca certa o reducere a numarului de avioane comandate de Departamentul Apararii al SUA, au fost si ele, cel putin pentru moment, negate, Jennifer Whitlow adaugand: “In addition, we appreciate Secretary Panetta’s continued support of the critical need for 5th generation technology and his commitment to the F-35 program of record — including all three variants and a total procurement of 2,443 domestic aircraft,” she said.
Gunpod la F-35
Asa ca F-35 merge inainte, cu toate cele trei variante : F35A CTOL, aterizare si decolare normale, F-35B, STOVL, decolare scurta, aterizare verticala si F-35 C, CV versiunea pentru portaviaone.
sursa: defensenews
sursa poze: fighter-planes-mania