F-35: DAB-Bound

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters today the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program will go before the Defense Acquisition Board on Monday for an assessment of the program's ongoing technical baseline review.

That "soup-to-nuts" review, being led by JSF Program Executive Officer Vice Adm. David Venlet, is near completion and has discovered additional issues that are of concern, Morrell said. For example, the aircraft needs more lines of software code than previously expected, he said.

Morrell added that no decisions are expected to be made during the DAB meeting. He declined to comment on what recommendations might come out of it, noting that any big decisions on JSF would be made by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, probably in the fiscal year 2012 budget process. He stressed the department is not wavering on the program, which remains of "vital importance."