When Bob Cox, probably the biggest untainted critic of the F-35 program says that its ahead of schedule and appears to be gaining momentum, then everyone should pay attention. Follow this link to read the whole story.
Lockheed flew the ninth of the initial 13 flight-testing jets recently, counting the original prototype, which has already been retired.
By week's end, the test program had completed 146 flights this year compared with the 128 planned, a pace that, if, sustained, would enable the full-year goal of 394 flights to be met or exceeded.
Another measure of progress is the number of specific tests (test points) achieved: 1,438 completed compared with 1,255 planned.
All of which means that if F-35 testing continues at the current pace through the rest of this year, it will be just about where it was supposed to be at the end of 2009
Which means that 2009 won't be a lost year and that by the middle of 2011 the program should be right back on its pre-breach schedule!