VIDEO: Lockheed CEO Bob Stevens on F-35

[sarcasm]Whew! That sure was a hard-hitting, 60 Minutes-caliber interview![/sarcasm]

One thing is clear: there ain't nothing gonna kill the F-35 program barring a total and complete meltdown of the program, which seems unlikely. Suck it up, ELP.

Bonus points: What F-35 model is that in the background?

Brownie points: What specific test article is it?

Would have been nice to see the F-35, not the F-22, perform acrobatic maneuvers. Given that LM seems immensely satisfied that they have accomplished landing gear retraction at this point and little else, we may see the F-35 exceed 2 Gs, oh, I don't know, 2034, maybe, at which point production - and testing - will hopefully be complete?

And Joe Average on the street thinks that the jet footage of the F-22 is an F-35. Amazing.

Schedule tracking. Tracking on what and which schedule that is slipped.

Code 1 .... too funny.... tell them about the over 300 flight tests that were supposed to happen this FY and the over 1200 FY2010 (plus the makeup work for FY2009)

Great video....

On a business show. That is called misinforming the stockholder. WTG.

Definitely a PR move to try and silence the critics and mislead stockholders and potential future investors. I suppose its an understandable move considering the general economic situation (just take a gander at that stock ticker!)

And why exactly are they showcasing the f-22 while talking about the f-35, as if nobody could tell the difference??!!

Well Bloomberg's gotta run video of something. Not a whole lot of exciting footage out there for the F-35.

That's TV news for you.

The aircraft has significant software safety issues. There is a False Claims Act lawsuit against Lockheed Martin. The article below describes some of the issues and it provides a link to the suit.

http://www.f-16.net/news_article3635.html

Regarding the false claims suit, the proof is in the pudding. If F-35s start falling from the sky - provided they ever actually fly - then we will know the claims in the suit have some validity. Beyond that, this lawsuit will go exactly nowhere.