February 01, 2016
A defense budget analyst contends that the Air Force will likely use its F-35A Joint Strike Fighter program as a "bill-payer" in the fiscal year 2017 budget because of its increasing commitment to the KC-46 aerial refueling tanker and Long-Range Strike Bomber. Kate Blakely, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments who used to work for the Congressional Research Service, said the Air Force's potential cuts to F-35A spending will likely be met with little resistance from Congress because the program is increasingly seen as "kind of a problem child."