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Trump's Acting Pentagon Chief Reportedly Said The $1 Trillion F-35 Is 'F*cked' And Never Should Have Been Made
The new defense chief, a former Boeing employee, has reportedly been extremely critical Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter in private meetings, raising questions about whether he is bias in overseeing the largest weapons program in history.
Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, who took over in the wake of former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' resignation, spent more than 30 years at Boeing before he joined the Department of Defense in 2017 as the deputy secretary of defense.
Although he signed an ethics agreement recusing himself from participating in matters involving Boeing, the new defense chief has continuously bashed a key program for one of Boeing's top competitors in high-level meetings at the Pentagon and other private gatherings, Politico reports, citing former government officials who personally heard Shanahan make critical comments.
Shanahan reportedly called the F-35 stealth fighter "f---ed up,' saying that Lockheed "doesn't know how to run a program."
"'If it had gone to Boeing, it would be done much better,'" a former official recalled Shanahan saying, Politico reported.
He is said to have "dumped" on the aircraft regularly, with a former Trump administration official noting that he kind of "went off" on the program last year. "He would complain about Lockheed's timing and their inability to deliver, and from a Boeing point of view, say things like, 'We would never do that,'" the former official revealed.
U.S. Air Force F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter crew chief, Tech. Sgt. Brian West, watches his aircraft approach for the first time at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., July 14, 2011. Aircraft 0747 is the Department of Defense's newest aircraft. (U.S. Air Force/Samuel King Jr.)
In other private meetings, Shanahan has reportedly called the program "unsustainable," complaining about the cost in particular of the stealth fighters, with separate versions built for the Navy, Marines and Air Force. The F-35 is expected to cost more than $1 trillion over the life of the program, making it the most expensive weapon in US military history.
Current administration officials, however, told Politico that Shanahan's comments are being taken out of context, stressing that he is not advocating for Boeing. "I don't believe that's the case at all. I think he's agnostic toward Boeing at best," one official explained. "I don't think there's any intent to have Boeing favored in the building."
This is not the first time Shanahan's loyalties have been called into question. The Pentagon is supposedly planning a request for $1.2 billion for 12 Boeing F-15 X fighter jets, a decision that was made at Shanahan's urging, according to Bloomberg News. Air Force leaders had previously stated that there was no reason to buy these advanced fourth-generation fighters because these aircraft lack the necessary stealth capabilities provided by fifth-generation planes, according to Defense News.
Despite the allegations, Shanahan's office says he remains committed to the recusal. In public, he has spoken highly of the F-35 program.
"The F-35 is our future," he said in September at the Air Force Association's Air, Space and Cyber Conference. "I think we can all agree that it is a remarkable aircraft, with eye-watering capabilities critical to the high end fight."
"I tip my hat to its broad team of government, industry, and international partners. Having worked on programs of similar size and complexity, I have enormous respect for your talent and commitment."
Read more from Business Insider:
- As the U.S. prepares to withdraw from Syria, the Trump administration still doesn't know what to do with hundreds of ISIS prisoners
- Watch the iconic U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane fly over the NCAA college football championship
- Taiwan is changing up its combat drills to fight off an invasion by China
- Wisconsin senator asks Air Force to investigate 'culture' of sexual misconduct in state Air National Guard unit
- Two Marine snipers have redeemed the Corps with a big win after its embarrassing loss to the Coast Guard last year
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The FBI is treating the recent shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, as a terrorist attack, several media outlets reported on Sunday.
"We work with the presumption that this was an act of terrorism," USA Today quoted FBI Agent Rachel Rojas as saying at a news conference.
Trump says Kim Jong Un risks losing 'everything' after North Korea claims major test
WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un risks losing "everything" if he resumes hostility and his country must denuclearize, after the North said it had carried out a "successful test of great significance."
"Kim Jong Un is too smart and has far too much to lose, everything actually, if he acts in a hostile way. He signed a strong Denuclearization Agreement with me in Singapore," Trump said on Twitter, referring to his first summit with Kim in Singapore in 2018.
"He does not want to void his special relationship with the President of the United States or interfere with the U.S. Presidential Election in November," he said.
Navy identifies three slain sailors who ‘showed exceptional heroism’ during the Pensacola shooting
The three sailors whose lives were cut short by a gunman at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, on Friday "showed exceptional heroism and bravery in the face of evil," said base commander Navy Capt. Tim Kinsella.
Ensign Joshua Kaleb Watson, Airman Mohammed Sameh Haitham, and Airman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters were killed in the shooting, the Navy has announced.
The Pentagon’s troop deployment denials means nothing when the White House screams ‘fake news’ all the time
The Pentagon has a credibility problem that is the result of the White House's scorched earth policy against any criticism. As a result, all statements from senior leaders are suspect.
We're beyond the point of defense officials being unable to say for certain whether a dog is a good boy or girl. Now we're at the point where the Pentagon has spent three days trying to knock down a Wall Street Journal story about possible deployments to the Middle East, and they've failed to persuade either the press or Congress.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the United States was considering deploying up to 14,000 troops to the Middle East to thwart any potential Iranian attacks. The story made clear that President Trump could ultimately decide to send a smaller number of service members, but defense officials have become fixated on the number 14,000 as if it were the only option on the table.
Marine commandant says senior leaders have not explained to troops the risks of using TikTok
This article originally appeared on Business Insider.
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. – Gen. David Berger, the US Marine Corps commandant, suggested the concerns surrounding a service members' use of questionable Chinese-owned apps like TikTok should be directed against the military's leadership, rather than the individual troops.
Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, on Saturday morning, Berger said the younger generation of troops had a "clearer view" of the technology "than most people give them credit for."
"That said, I'd give us a 'C-minus' or a 'D' in educating the force on the threat of even technology," Berger said. "Because they view it as two pieces of gear, 'I don't see what the big deal is.'"