Air Force general tapped to head F-35 program

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has nominated Air Force Maj. Gen. Christopher Bogdan to get his third star as head of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.

Bogdan, who is currently deputy director of the F-35 program, would replace Navy Vice Adm. David Venlet as program chief.

Bogdan would be heading up the Pentagon’s largest weapons program ever, and one with an oft-troubled history. He must be confirmed by the Senate.

The F-35, which has variants for the Air Force, Navy and Marines, has been widely criticized for its cost overruns and development problems.

The Marine Corps’ short take-off variant of the F-35 was placed on a two-year probation by former Defense Secretary Robert Gates in January 2011. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta lifted the probation in December.

Bogdan was appointed as director of the KC-46 tanker program in 2009, but he swapped jobs with Maj. Gen. John Thompson in May, as Thompson took over the K-46 director and Bogdan moved into the F-35 deputy director role.

That move was likely made as a precursor to Thursday’s move to put Bogdan in charge of the F-35 program.

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