US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates offered strong support for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme during a visit to the company's assembly plant in Fort Worth, Texas, on 31 August.rnContract cost overruns and the extended time needed to complete flight-testing hold the potential to trigger an F-35 programme cost increase of between USD2.4 billion and USD7.4 billion,rnaccording to May 2009 Congressional testimony submitted by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO also said the schedule for system development may need to be extended between one and three years.
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