Pentagon arms buyer hopeful that Lockheed F-35 block buy will proceed

SIMI VALLEY (California): Rank Kendall, the Pentagon’s chief arms buyer, said on Saturday he was hopeful that a proposed three-year block buy of Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets, expected to generate large savings, would go ahead.

“I can’t say what’s in the final budget, but I’m very hopeful that the block buy will proceed as planned,” Kendall told Reuters at the annual Reagan National Defense Forum in southern California.