Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced on Thursday a further restructuring of the radar-evading F-35 as part of a broad cost-reduction plan, saving it would result in net savings of about $4 billion over the next five years.
The Pentagon's biggest arms program, the new fighter is being developed with eight international partner countries at total cost of $382 billion, but the program has run into schedule delays and massive cost overruns in recent years.
Gates said work on the Air Force and Navy versions of the plane was moving along satisfactorily.
But he said the Marine Corps variant of the plane, which offers short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) capabilities, was put on a two-year "probation," and could be canceled if Lockheed was unable to fix significant test problems.
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