Defense spending bills in both the House and Senate would significantly increase the number of F-35 joint strike fighters the military could purchase, well beyond what the Trump administration requested for the year.
A Senate subcommittee unveiled its plan to fund 89 of the high-tech jets on Tuesday, which is 12 more than the 77 requested. The appropriations bill came just as the House was considering annual defense spending legislation that calls for 93 of the aircraft.
The full Senate Appropriations Committee is set for a final markup of the defense bill on Thursday. It hikes F-35 spending by $1.2 billion for an additional eight of the carrier variant F-35C aircraft for the Navy and four of the short-takeoff and vertical-landing F-35B variant for the Marine Corps.
Appropriators in both chambers broke with their colleagues on the armed services committees.
The House Armed Services Committee had backed the administration’s request for 77 of the F-35s in its version of the National Defense Authorization Act, which passed the chamber last month.
Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee actually cut the number to 75 for 2019, citing concerns over the cost of maintaining the fighters.
The F-35 is the most expensive procurement program in Pentagon history, but is also considered the most advanced jet of its kind in the world.
