Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) - EMD

Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) - EMD falls under the Research, Development, Test & Evaluation budget activity for the Navy. The specific goal of this program is to develop and field an affordable, highly common family of next-generation strike aircraft for the USN, USAF, USMC, and allies. This includes the three variants: F-35A Conventional Takeoff and Landing; F-35B Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing; and F-35C Aircraft Carrier suitable variant. The program aims to provide stealthy multi-role aircraft to replace existing aircraft models across different branches of the military and allied forces. The System Development and Demonstration (SDD) budget supports the development of 20 RDT&E test articles, including ground and flight test articles for use by the USN, USMC, and USAF.

The program's objectives include conducting engineering and manufacturing development tasks aimed at meeting validated requirements prior to a full-rate production decision. The SDD budget funded a total quantity of 20 RDT&E test articles to include 6 ground test articles and 14 flight test articles for USN, USMC, and USAF use. The program also involves international partnership in the development, production, and sustainment phases of the lifecycle. Additionally, it includes Foreign Military Sales arrangements as part of its acquisition strategy. The program aims to transition to fixed-price-type procurement contracts after low-rate initial production and seeks multiyear procurement authority for the F-35 Air System during full-rate production.