Pentagon’s F-35 Program Could Be Delayed

Two years since the Pentagon F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program adopted the integrated master schedule (IMS) which would have been declared operational by now is at risk. This according to the Defense Department's chief weapons-tester. 

Software required to meet the Marine Corps' limited initial operating capability (IOC) date is already expected to be eight months late relative to the August 2011 IMS, Michael Gilmore, the Pentagon's director of operational test and evaluation (DOT&E) told the Senate defense appropriations subcommittee on June 19, according to Aviation week.

Radar and electro-optical system snags have delayed weapons integration, consuming all the margin built into weapons testing. Buffet and transonic wing-drop “continue to be a concern to achieving operational combat capability.” 

The root of the software delays is that the program has been forced to add tests at a rate that more than offsets better-than-scheduled testing performance. The main causes, Gilmore says, are the helmet-mounted display system (HMDS) and regression testing—which ensure that changes have not caused problems in areas previously vetted. Regression testing alone has already forced the addition of 366 test points in 2013, the report added.