The Defense Department, which for 20 years has treated the acquisition objective for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as sacrosanct, is now contemplating curtailing future purchases to offset new fleet modernization initiatives, possibly signaling a new era where program cost growth will be borne by the project instead of budget topline increases. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said he believes the F-35 program -- the most expensive weapon system project in history with $164 billion in cost growth -- should...
