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发帖数: 10330 | 1 U.S. military reveals timing of future F-35 fighter's use to Congress
May 31 (Reuters) - America's newest warplane, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter,
will reach operational milestones in 2015 for the Marine Corps, 2016 for
the Air Force and 2019 for the Navy, according to details formally provided
to the U.S. Congress on Friday.
Those are the dates that Lockheed Martin's F-35 will achieve initial
operational capability - the point when the services have enough planes on
hand to go to war if needed.
Actual deployments usually lag initial operational capability (IOC) dates by
about a year.
Reuters previously reported rough dates, citing sources familiar with the
plans.
Friday's congressional rollout made the dates official, despite ongoing
concerns about the cost and technical maturity of the world's most expensive
weapons system.
Congress was told the following, according to the Pentagon:
- The Marine Corps F-35B will reach the IOC milestone by December 2015.
- The Air Force's F-35A will reach the IOC milestone by December 2016.
- The Navy's F-35C, attached to carrier air wings, will reach the IOC
milestone by February 2019. | S***a
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