The Pentagon wants the F-35 to replace most of its ageing fighter jets.
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US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has sacked the marine general overseeing a $40bn (£25bn) project to build the next generation strike fighter jet. F-35 programme chief Maj Gen David Heinz will be replaced by a yet to be named higher ranking general. Mr Gates said the F-35 programme had been plagued by problems and failed to hit performance targets. He also said Lockheed Martin, the US firm making the jet, would not receive $614m in performance-related payouts. The Pentagon wants the F-35 to replace most of its ageing fighter jets. "The progress and performance of the F-35 over the past two years has not been what it should," Mr Gates told a news conference on the Pentagon's proposed budget. He added that "a number of key goals and benchmarks were not met".
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