Panetta says F-35 ‘absolutely vital’ as he lifts probation on Marine Corps jet

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced he was lifting
probation of the Marine Corps F-35 fighter variant on Friday, giving the
program a boost before the Pentagon’s budget cuts are announced next month.

Speaking behind an F-35 plane at the Naval Air Station Patuxent
River in Maryland, where testing is conducted, Panetta said he was lifting the
probation in part because of the progress that had been made there.

{mosads}“This fifth-generation fighter behind me is absolutely vital
to maintaining our air superiority,” Panetta said. “As secretary of Defense, my
department is committed to the development of the F-35. It’s absolutely
critical, that we get it right, and that’s why you’re here.”

The F-35B, the Marines’ short-takeoff, vertical-landing
variant, has been the most troubled version of the F-35, the Pentagon’s largest
weapons program in history. Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates placed the
program on a two-year probation in January 2011, threatening to cancel the
Marine fighter altogether if problems were not addressed.

Budget watchers had also pegged the F-35B as a potential
target for the budget axe, as the Pentagon prepares to cut $487 billion from
its budgets over the next decade. Some had suggested the military would have
been fine with only two variants instead of three.

Panetta reaffirmed his commitment to the Marine’s version Friday, though that doesn’t mean the program won’t face some reduction when the Pentagon’s budget is released next month. Panetta said Friday there’s still a long way to go for the
F-35 program, as it’s “obviously not out of the woods yet.”

“We now believe that because of your work, that the [F-35B] variant is demonstrating the kind of performance and
maturity that is in line with the other two variants of the JSF,” Panetta said.