Top official warns of F-35 development slowdown if continuing resolution lasts through April

The head of the Pentagon’s F-35 fighter jet program is warning that program development and testing will slip if a continuing resolution (CR) for the annual defense budget lasts until spring, Defense News reported.

“Right now, based upon the current plan, we should see no major impact until the April time frame,” Vice Adm. Mat Winter told reporters Wednesday at a defense conference.

“Right now, it won’t look like anything different. We’ll be on track as we’re executing through December. In January, we’ll see where we are.”

{mosads}A continuing resolution freezes current funding levels and prevents any new programs from starting, and lawmakers are all but certain one will be used at least until December. A CR would keep departments funded after the 2017 budget expires on Sept. 30, before Congress can pass a 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

A CR would mean the Lockheed Martin-made F-35, the Pentagon’s most expensive program to date, would not receive as much funding as planned for the next fiscal year. The program office would have to submit a request in January for more dollars above CR levels to stay on pace.

If that is denied, “we will just see slowing down, not as many tests, not as much development. It would slow down versus stop,” Winter said.

Earlier on Wednesday, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said a CR would be “a mistake,” but added that he expects that one will be used until December, at the least.

“I regret very much we are in a position where it seems a CR is the best option,” Thornberry said at the conference.

Winter also announced the F-35 joint program office is rolling out a new strategy to make updates to the jet more efficient and done at a faster pace.

He said he will bring the plan to the Pentagon’s top acquisition official for final approval in late October.