The House Congressional Joint Strike Fighter Caucus recently sent a letter to the chairmen and ranking members of the House Armed Service Committee and the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee urging them to support the F-35 Lightning II program.
The F-35 is a stealth military aircraft. The letter urges support for the fiscal year 2020 defense authorization and appropriations bills that would fund 102 F-35 aircraft.
This number returns F-35 production to the level it experienced prior to the Budget Control Act’s budget caps.
Additional funding is needed to enhance military preparedness, the letter said.
“We urge you to fully fund the president’s budget request for modernization efforts known as Continuous Capability Development and Delivery (C2D2),” the letter said. “C2D2 is critical to meeting the evolving threat in the mid-2020s and into the 2030s. Full funding is needed for the delivery of new weapons and critical capabilities necessary to keep the F-35 ahead of our adversaries. F-35 modernization is crucial for 4th generation aircraft systems, which are increasingly vulnerable and reliant on 5th generation production.”
The F-35 JSF program also contributes $44.2 billion to the national economy annually and supports more than 220,000 direct and indirect jobs and more than 1,400 suppliers.
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