Trump names new head of F-35 program

President Trump has selected Rear Adm. Mathias Winter as his nominee to become the new head of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, the Navy announced Tuesday.

Winter is being nominated to succeed Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, the current head, who will retire from his position this spring after leading the office since December 2012.

Trump’s nominee has been the deputy program executive officer for the F-35 since December 2016. He will receive his third star before he serves as the Joint Strike Fighter program director.

{mosads}A Pentagon spokesman told The Hill that Bogdan’s retirement was a personal decision and there wasn’t political pressure. The official announcement will come later this week, he added.

“He’s going to retire after five-plus years being here,” the spokesman said. “This has kind of been in the works for some months. It’s a good time for a transition.”

The F-35, which is designed to replace the major fighter jets in the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, has had a long history of cost overruns and delays in its development.

The office came under Trump’s scrutiny on the campaign trail and following the election, when Trump wrote on Twitter the F-35 cost were “out of control.”