Trump meets with Boeing again...its got to be about EA-18G!

via DoD Buzz

The chief executive officer of the world’s largest aerospace company on Tuesday met again with the president-elect to talk about the cost of future Air Force One aircraft and fighter jets.
Dennis Muilenburg said he had an “excellent conversation” with Donald Trump yesterday at Trump Tower in New York City.
“We talked about a couple of topics,” he said, according to a press pool report. “We discussed Air Force One. We discussed fighter aircraft.”
Muilenburg added, “We made some great progress on simplifying requirements for Air Force One, streamlining the process, streamlining certification by using commercial practices. All of that is going to provide a better airplane at a lower cost, so I’m pleased with the progress there. And similarly on fighters, we were able to talk about options for the country and capabilities that will, again, provide the best capability for our warfighters most affordably.”

And then this.

The Boeing-made F/A-18E/F Super Hornet doesn’t offer the same level of stealth or sensor technology as the F-35, though the Chicago-based aerospace giant has previously argued that the capabilities of the twin-engine electronic attack variant EA-18G Growler eclipse the Joint Strike Fighter’s stealth advantage. And, of course, the Super Hornet is significantly cheaper.

Something is going on here.  Trump is getting hip deep into the F-35 issue and let's face it.  The Pentagon is the place where you can make a big splash quickly.

How could Trump make a big splash and garner much support among the fiscal hawks and much of the silent majority when it comes to the F-35?

He could cut the hell outta the program.  If he orders it then the Pentagon can play games about contracts already signed but in the end they would have to salute and follow orders.

But what has me intrigued is the fact that the author of the article brought up the EA-18G.

Do you remember the significance of this?

I'll try and find the link but the DoD and the Navy were suppose to do a study on how much electronic attack they needed going into the future.  In essence they wanted to know how many EA-18G's were needed to satisfy combatant commander needs.  Oh and lets be clear.  The AESA on the F-35 is at best a LIMITED electronic attack option which leaves us with the Navy option.

Regardless I'm almost positive that Trump is going to do something big with the F-35 and the F/A/EA-18E/F/G.