The government has been working on the latest jets for a few years now and there have been some new developments in the US Military’s F-35 Project that I thought you should all know about. For those of you not familiar with them, the F-35 Lightening IIs are the latest jets that have been commissioned by the US military to replace the F-22 as the fighter jet of choice for the Air Force, Marine Corp and Navy.

They will be used not only for the US military, but many allied nations as well. There have been some hurtles along the way, but a critical move has recently been made that may get this project back on track!

On Feb. 2, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that Marine Corp Maj. Gen. David Heinz has been fired as the man in charge of the F-35 program due to mismanagement of the project. Gates also blames Lockheed, the company commissioned with the building of these new jets for the numerous delays and inaccurate initial reports.

$614 million has been withheld from the company until the matter is cleared up. Secretary Gates has vowed that those who are responsible for the delays and mismanagement of funds will be held accountable.

The replacement for Heinz has also been announced. Vice Adm. David J. Venlet is a higher ranking officer with experience as a Navy Fighter Pilot and has an engineering background. Gates is confident that he is a better match for the job, and Lockheed has also promised that their management of this project will be re-evaluated.

I for one am happy that this project is still a top priority for the US military budget, and hope that this move will keep the program moving along, but I also want to know what you all think!!

Do you think that the F-35s are worth all this trouble and money, or should we have invested more in the F-22s?