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At the same, there was a flight envelope established as an expectation for each of those
block developments.

All of our test planning was scoped around being able to clear — for flight sciences — a
given envelope to meet a milestone promise date for the particular block in question.
And, from the mission system side, developing those missions systems and weapons
that were promised for each of those blocks.

For example, when the F-35B Block 2B became cleared for IOC, there were many stories
about what it cannot do; that really is not the point. The plane will evolve its capabilities
over time based on spiral development. The point is that it is a very capable combat jet
at the block it has achieved already.

And the impact is immediate.

Stealth from the sea is brand new for the Marine Corps and Navy.

Question: How do you manage risk in the program?

Answer: Everything has to be evaluated, and our team does an excellent job of evaluat-
ing the risk at hand versus the need for the test. A high-risk test, which has a high value,
is the flight that you should be flying more so than the flight that is next to nothing for
risk but is questionable as to whether it even has to be flown from a value perspective.

The very first level of risk reduction, of what we do in a program like this, is to scope
out what is really necessary to do and what is not necessary to do.

Your best safety net is creating a culture that is not risk averse but is positive, proactive,
and dedicated to moving forward, yet at the same time does not compromise safety.

You need sound reasons for doing your testing; not just testing for testing’s sake.

Question: In your testing, how robust have you found the F-35 as baseline aircraft to
be?

Second Line of Defense Lessons Learned at Pax River
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