Joint strike fighter delays, unplanned-for service-life extensions and other headaches have cut the time pilots spend in the cockpit and reduced their desire to stay in uniform, according to an Inspector General report.
The Navy claims it is making progress in the battle against oxygen loss and other physiological episodes that threaten pilots, but critics say their effort has disappointed.
Navy officials haven’t yet confirmed that a reported aircraft crash Sunday afternoon in Cherokee National Forest in southeastern Tennessee, was in fact a missing Navy T-45 training jet, Navy sources say.