Air Force may curtail F-35 plan if newer tech pans out, SECAF says

The Air Force may cut short its planned purchases of F-35 jets, depending on how newer development efforts go, the service’s outgoing secretary said Thursday.

“Our inventory objective for the F-35 is [1,763]. I don't know what we'll end up buying, and nobody can predict that right now. I know we're going to buy more, and we're going to be buying more for some period of time. At some point, this will be dependent on what we do with [Next Generation Air Dominance] and what we do with [Collaborative Combat Aircraft], we'll probably revisit that, [but] I don't think we're ready to do that yet,” Frank Kendall said during an event at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. 

Kendall emphasized that the F-35 isn’t going away anytime soon, and even if the service decides to build a sixth-generation fighter under the NGAD program, it would be a “very expensive airplane” that would require at least “several years” to field in quantity.

But the Pentagon does need “better performance” out of Lockheed, Kendall said. The company is still reeling from a year-long F-35 delivery pause caused by technology development problems with an upgrade package for the jet. 

“They’re not delivering what they've been promising, and they're not doing as fast as they could by a wide margin,” Kendall said. 

Lockheed and the F-35 program recently reached a handshake deal on the next two F-35 production lots—18 and 19—but that deal might not be finalized until after the new administration takes over. Those jets will be more expensive than previous lots “for a variety of factors,” Kendall said, reiterating previous comments from Lockheed officials. 

The incoming Trump administration has announced no plans for the F-35. Elon Musk, key adviser for President-elect Donald Trump and co-leader of an effort to “increase government efficiency,” recently tore into the program, calling the jet “obsolete” and a “sh*t design.” 

Kendall criticized Musk’s comments, noted his lack of military experience, and encouraged him to learn more about the military before he makes “provocative” comments. 

“I have a lot of respect for Elon Musk as an engineer. He's not a warfighter, and he needs to learn a little bit more about the business I think before he makes such grand announcements, as he did,” Kendall said. 

At some point, the military could rely solely on autonomous drones instead of manned fighters, but that’s “decades” away, Kendall said. Other Air Force leaders have similarly pushed back on suggestions that the days of crewed aircraft are numbered.

Kendall has just a few weeks left in his tenure as Air Force secretary before the new administration takes the helm. Kendall said he has already met with the Trump transition team, who reportedly started making their rounds at the Pentagon on Monday. 

Trump has yet to announce his pick to replace Kendall. Politico reported earlier this week that Andrew McKenna, a major Trump donor and head of a small investment and advisory firm, is a top contender. If he gets the nod, McKenna would be one of several Trump picks for top Pentagon jobs with little DOD experience. 

Kendall said his successor—whether that person comes from the national-security community or not—should put themselves in a “learning mode” and heed the advice of professionals in the Pentagon. 

“If it's somebody who's coming in who doesn't know this community as well, my one major piece of advice is listen to the people who've been doing it for all their careers, and have a depth of knowledge and learn as much from them as quickly as you can,” he said.