WASHINGTON — Lt. Gen. Michael Schmidt was sworn in as the new program executive officer for the F-35 Joint Program Office on Tuesday. Schmidt, who was previously PEO for command, control, communication, intelligence and networks at Hansom Air Force Base in Massachusetts, succeeded Lt. Gen. Eric Fick, who is retiring. Schmidt, who on Monday tested positive for COVID-19, teleconferenced into the ceremony at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C....
...Pentagon acquisition chief Bill LaPlante said that with the U.S. facing complex security environments, the F-35 is a necessity more than ever, noting progress on the fighter would not have been possible without Fick...,
...“Fourth-gen [fighter] meets a fifth-gen; the fourth-gen dies,” LaPlante said, paraphrasing former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh. “It’s that simple. It’s an incredible airplane.”
Fick, who served as the F-35 PEO for three years, said the program has “battled through a very daunting challenge” with a serious shortage of the fighter’s F135 power modules. But, he added, the program is now seeing “the light at the end of the tunnel,” and got there faster than expected by working together with government and industry partners, such as the Air Force Sustainment Center and F135 enginer-maker Pratt & Whitney....