Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England has directed the Navy to restore the budget for six short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing Joint Strike Fighters in fiscal year 2008, reversing plans to delay the fielding of the Marine Corps version of the fighter, according to Pentagon and service officials. England issued the ruling recently in an internal Pentagon budget document known as program decision memorandum IV, which is not intended for public release. Pentagon and service officials with knowledge of the document, who spoke on condition...
