Gates fires general, withholds funds over F-35 problems: "Defense Secretary Robert Gates sacked Monday the general in charge of the F-35 fighter jet program and said he would withhold funds from Lockheed Martin over a series of cost overruns and delays.
'The progress and performance of the F-35 over the past two years has not been what it should,' said Gates, adding, 'a number of key goals and benchmarks were not met.'
The Pentagon will withhold 614 million dollars in performance fees from lead contractor Lockheed Martin, he said.
Gates said he took the decision because 'the taxpayer should not have to bear the entire burden of getting the JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) program back on track.'"
