F-35: Program progress earns production increase for FY 2015

It appears the F-35 program is not only on track but making good enough progress that the Pentagon is going to up its production rate:

"Program progress is sufficient for the department to budget for an increase in the production rate in fiscal year 2015," Frank Kendall, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, wrote in a memorandum dated October 28 and obtained by Reuters on Tuesday.

"Award of higher production rates will be contingent on continued program progress," he wrote in the memo. He cited the need for progress in software development, improvements in a computer-based logistics system that is behind schedule, and resolution of several previously identified design issues. 

So we see an acknowledgement from the Pentagon that the jet's software is still a concern which doesn't come as a huge surprise.  But progress has been good enough that production will be ramped up and that should lead to those economies of scale we've been talking about and see costs for each variant of the F-35 come down -- as promised.

Graff