The inclusion of the senior service leaders for the F-35 Joint
Strike Fighter hearing will give it some added attention as one of the final
budget hearings of the year.
{mosads}The Senate Appropriations panel is the last of the four defense
committees to put together its annual defense bill. In the first three, the F-35
program was either fully funded to the Pentagon request or included minor cuts.
The F-35 Joint Strike
Fighter is the most expensive Defense Department weapons program in history,
and has long been in the sights of Pentagon budget-cutters for being over
budget and behind schedule.