F35项目的头被炒了

Gates Fires Head of F-35 Fighter Jet Program
By Justin Fishel

- FOXNews.com


A senior manager is being removed and Lockheed Martin penalized for missing
targets on a new generation of fighter jets currently in production, the
secretary of defense said Monday.

A senior manager in charge of procuring the next generation of military
fighter jets known as F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has been fired and the
Department of Defense has been instructed to withhold money that would pay
bonuses to the lead contractor, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced
Monday.

In a briefing at the Pentagon on the 2011 defense budget, Gates said
inefficiencies and budget overruns within the costly fighter program forced
him to take action.

Gates said Lockheed Martin, the defense contractor responsible for producing
the F-35, is in agreement with his plan to withhold bonuses, calling it a
burden "the taxpayer should not have to bear."

In 2009 a Defense Department review concluded the Joint Strike Fighter
program had significant cost overruns and its production dates were far over
schedule.

Gates did not announce a replacement to head up the Joint Strike Fighter
program, but he said the new position will be elevated to that of a three-
star officer.

Gates has a reputation for firing his senior staff, and he was quick to
point that out.

"One cannot absorb the additional costs that -- that we have in this program
and the -- and the delays, without people being held accountable. And I
think if -- if I've set one tone here at the Department of Defense, it is
that, when things go wrong, people will be held accountable."

In 2008 Gates fired Air Force Secretary Michael Wynn and forced out the Air
Force Chief of Staff, Michael T. Moseley in wake of the "loose nukes"
scandal earlier that year.

In 2009 he removed Gen. David McKiernan from his position as the commanding
general in Afghanistan after it became clear that the Taliban had reversed
the momentum of the war. Brig. Gen. David Heinz, now the former Program
executive officer for the F-35, has become the secretary's latest casualty.

The new project manager for the Joint Strike Fighter will be announced in a
matter of days, and he'll have heavy burden to bear. The Joint Strike
Fighter is currently the Pentagon's most expensive weapons project ever,
with defense officials putting the price tag for all the jets requested at
nearly $300 billion.

The F-35 fighter is called the "Joint" Strike Fighter because it's designed
for use across the Navy, Marine Corp, and the Air Force. The Pentagon also
has plans to sell it to allies overseas once production needs within the U.S
. military have been met.

The first F-35s are expected to be operation in 2012 if all goes according
to plan. The Marines will be the first to get them and the defense community
will be watching closely. From the day an F35 rolls off the assembly to the
day it's retired, it's total production cost is valued at $69 million.Gates Fires Head of F-35 Fighter Jet Program
By Justin Fishel

- FOXNews.com


A senior manager is being removed and Lockheed Martin penalized for missing
targets on a new generation of fighter jets currently in production, the
secretary of defense said Monday.

A senior manager in charge of procuring the next generation of military
fighter jets known as F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has been fired and the
Department of Defense has been instructed to withhold money that would pay
bonuses to the lead contractor, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced
Monday.

In a briefing at the Pentagon on the 2011 defense budget, Gates said
inefficiencies and budget overruns within the costly fighter program forced
him to take action.

Gates said Lockheed Martin, the defense contractor responsible for producing
the F-35, is in agreement with his plan to withhold bonuses, calling it a
burden "the taxpayer should not have to bear."

In 2009 a Defense Department review concluded the Joint Strike Fighter
program had significant cost overruns and its production dates were far over
schedule.

Gates did not announce a replacement to head up the Joint Strike Fighter
program, but he said the new position will be elevated to that of a three-
star officer.

Gates has a reputation for firing his senior staff, and he was quick to
point that out.

"One cannot absorb the additional costs that -- that we have in this program
and the -- and the delays, without people being held accountable. And I
think if -- if I've set one tone here at the Department of Defense, it is
that, when things go wrong, people will be held accountable."

In 2008 Gates fired Air Force Secretary Michael Wynn and forced out the Air
Force Chief of Staff, Michael T. Moseley in wake of the "loose nukes"
scandal earlier that year.

In 2009 he removed Gen. David McKiernan from his position as the commanding
general in Afghanistan after it became clear that the Taliban had reversed
the momentum of the war. Brig. Gen. David Heinz, now the former Program
executive officer for the F-35, has become the secretary's latest casualty.

The new project manager for the Joint Strike Fighter will be announced in a
matter of days, and he'll have heavy burden to bear. The Joint Strike
Fighter is currently the Pentagon's most expensive weapons project ever,
with defense officials putting the price tag for all the jets requested at
nearly $300 billion.

The F-35 fighter is called the "Joint" Strike Fighter because it's designed
for use across the Navy, Marine Corp, and the Air Force. The Pentagon also
has plans to sell it to allies overseas once production needs within the U.S
. military have been met.

The first F-35s are expected to be operation in 2012 if all goes according
to plan. The Marines will be the first to get them and the defense community
will be watching closely. From the day an F35 rolls off the assembly to the
day it's retired, it's total production cost is valued at $69 million.