NavAir admiral tapped to run JSF program

[unhappycamper]

NavAir admiral tapped to run JSF program
Staff report
Posted : Tuesday Mar 16, 2010 20:34:05 EDT

A three-star Navy admiral has been nominated to take over the troubled Joint Strike Fighter program, the Pentagon announced Tuesday.

Vice Adm. David Venlet, who runs Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, Md., was nominated to lead the joint program office that is developing the F-35 Lightning II, the most expensive procurement program in Pentagon history.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates fired the previous program manager, Marine Maj. Gen. David Heinz, in February.

Venlet, a former F-14 Tomcat pilot, has engineering degrees from the Naval Academy and the Naval Postgraduate School. He is also former test pilot at the Naval Air Test Center in Maryland.

The F-35 program and its lead contractor, Lockheed Martin, have been criticized in recent months for cost overruns and schedule delays.


Rest of article about this $239 million dollar wonder at: http://marinecorpstimes.com/news/2010/03/navy_JSF_venlet_031610w/