Trump's new Pentagon chief reportedly said the $1 trillion F-35 is 'f-----' and shouldn't have been made

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019, in Washington.

• Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, has reportedly been railing against Lockheed Martin's F-35 in private meetings, Politico reported Wednesday.
• At one point, he reportedly described the Joint Strike Fighter program as "f---ed up," arguing that Boeing could have done a better job.
• Shanahan has signed a ethics agreement recusing himself from participating in matters involving his former company, a leading US defense contractor.

The new defense chief, a former Boeing employee, has reportedly been extremely critical Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter in private meetings, raising questions about whether he is bias in overseeing the largest weapons program in history.

Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, who took over in the wake of former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' resignation, spent more than 30 years at Boeing before he joined the Department of Defense in 2017 as the deputy secretary of defense.

Although he signed an ethics agreement recusing himself from participating in matters involving Boeing, the new defense chief has continuously bashed a key program for one of Boeing's top competitors in high-level meetings at the Pentagon and other private gatherings, Politico reports, citing former government officials who personally heard Shanahan make critical comments.

US Air Force Photo

US Air Force F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter crew chief, Tech. Sgt. Brian West, watches his aircraft approach for the first time at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., July 14, 2011.

Shanahan reportedly called the F-35 stealth fighter "f---ed up,' saying that Lockheed "doesn't know how to run a program."

"'If it had gone to Boeing, it would be done much better,'" a former official recalled Shanahan saying, Politico reported.

He is said to have "dumped" on the aircraft regularly, with a former Trump administration official noting that he kind of "went off" on the program last year. "He would complain about Lockheed's timing and their inability to deliver, and from a Boeing point of view, say things like, 'We would never do that,'" the former official revealed.

In other private meetings, Shanahan has reportedly called the program "unsustainable," complaining about the cost in particular of the stealth fighters, with separate versions built for the Navy, Marines and Air Force. The F-35 is expected to cost more than $1 trillion over the life of the program, making it the most expensive weapon in US military history.

United States Air Force photo/Todd Cromar

Maintainers from the 388th Maintenance Group prepare an F-35A for its mission Nov. 19.

Current administration officials, however, told Politico that Shanahan's comments are being taken out of context, stressing that he is not advocating for Boeing. "I don't believe that's the case at all. I think he's agnostic toward Boeing at best," one official explained. "I don't think there's any intent to have Boeing favored in the building."

This is not the first time Shanahan's loyalties have been called into question. The Pentagon is supposedly planning a request for $1.2 billion for 12 Boeing F-15 X fighter jets, a decision that was made at Shanahan's urging, according to Bloomberg News. Air Force leaders had previously stated that there was no reason to buy these advanced fourth-generation fighters because these aircraft lack the necessary stealth capabilities provided by fifth-generation planes, according to Defense News.

U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Andrew Lee

A formation of 35 F-35A Lightning IIs, from the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings fly over the Utah Test and Training Range as part of a combat power exercise on Nov. 19, 2018.

Despite the allegations, Shanahan's office says he remains committed to the recusal. In public, he has spoken highly of the F-35 program.

"The F-35 is our future," he said in September at the Air Force Association's Air, Space and Cyber Conference. "I think we can all agree that it is a remarkable aircraft, with eye-watering capabilities critical to the high end fight."

"I tip my hat to its broad team of government, industry, and international partners. Having worked on programs of similar size and complexity, I have enormous respect for your talent and commitment."

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