Lockheed's F-35 Wins Pentagon Approval for Full Combat Testing
- Tests to begin despite more than 900 ‘unresolved deficiencies’
- Results are crucial for approval of full production in 2019
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Pentagon weapons buyer Ellen Lord has approved plans to begin full combat testing of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35, a major step toward full production of the fighter jet planned for next year.
Lord, the under secretary for acquisition, “certified readiness to enter operational testing after concurring” with the F-35 program manager’s recommendation to start in mid-November, her spokesman, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Mike Andrews, said in a statement to Bloomberg News.