U.S. defence cuts may jeopardize Canada’s purchase of F-35 fighter jets Postmedia News Jan 26, 2012 – 6:09 PM ET REUTERS/DoD/U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Joely Santiago/Handout REUTERS/DoD/U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Joely Santiago/Handout A U.S. Marine Corps F-35 Lightening II multirole fighter jet (R) is escorted by two USMC F-18 Hornets as it flies towards Eglin Air Force Base, Florida in this U.S. Air Force handout photo dated January 11, 2012. The Pentagon is preparing to lift a “probation” imposed last year on the Marine Corps version of Lockheed Martin’s new F-35 after the “B” model made progress on key technical issues, according to reports on January 19, 2012. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta may announce the move as soon as Friday, according to sources familiar with the matter. Comments Email Twitter inShare3 By Lee Berthiaume OTTAWA — U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta confirmed Thursday that $488 billion U.S. in Pentagon budget cuts will affect his country’s plans to purchase the troubled F-35 joint strike fighter — which likely will threaten Canada’s timeline for acquiring the stealth fighter as well. Panetta did not give any specifics as he addressed reporters in Washington, but previous reports out of the U.S. had indicated the Pentagon would be putting off production on as many as 179 F-35s from its plans over the next five years, starting with 13 fewer in 2013.
