USMC wants early end to F-35B probation

The U.S. Marine Corps is happy with progress made on the F-35B’s test program and hopes that a two-year probation on the jet could be lifted sooner.

Marine Corps Commandant General James Amos told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that he planned to offer Defense Secretary Robert Gates a set of metrics this spring to convince him that measurable progress has been made on the jet.