Gates Puts Lockheed Marine Corps F-35 on ‘Probation’
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U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has decided to put the Marine Corps’s F-35 jet on a two-year “probation” to give Lockheed Martin Corp. more time to demonstrate the fighter’s reliability, according to two defense officials and a lawmaker.
Gates will announce the decision today at a Pentagon news conference as part of his plan to save $102 billion in military spending through 2016, the officials said. Gates is proposing to make selective cuts and improve efficiency to free up money for priority weapons purchases and personnel.