Navy Counting on the JSF.

• Position: Joint Strike Fighter - Brief Article

Adm. Vein Clark, chief of naval operations (CNO), made it clear, in a recent talk with defense writers, that he hopes the new administration will not cancel the Joint Strike Fighter.

"I am counting on the Joint Strike Fighter," Clark said. "My air force is too old. It is older than it ever has been in our history. We have real clear indications that the cost of maintaining this force is escalating ... and this is making it real hard to maintain the current readiness."

Three out of four of the executive boards that Clark has convened since taking over as CNO last fall have dealt with the issue of...