F-35 jet faces new delays

Fresh hurdles in the production of Lockheed Martin Corp’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter are bound to translate into new criticism of the Conservative government’s decision to purchase 65 of the troubled fighter jets, the Globe and Mail reports. Delivery of the aircraft should be delayed, the Pentagon recommended this week after the discovery of cracks and “hot spots.” The constant hiccups and swelling price tag that have characterized the F-35 program are creating frustration in the U.S. as well. “The analyzed hot spots that have arisen in the last 12 months or so in the program have surprised us at the amount of change and at the cost,” U.S. Navy Vice-Admiral David Zenlet recently told the Web-based publication AOL Defense.

Globe and Mail