Burbage said the F-35 program was doing well and was 21 percent ahead of schedule with test flights for the year.

He said Air Force Major General Christopher Bogdan would assume control of the Pentagon’s F-35 program office on December 6, a date confirmed by the Pentagon. Bogdan will receive a third star when he is promoted to lieutenant general the week before.

Bogdan, who will replace retiring Navy Vice Admiral David Venlet as the program executive officer, is a “very fast learner,” Burbage told business executives at the embassy event.

Bogdan visited the Fort Worth, Texas plant where Lockheed builds the F-35, in October, a month after he described ties between Lockheed and the Pentagon as the “worst I’ve ever seen.”

Burbage said Bogdan had a good visit to Fort Worth, and Lockheed was looking forward to working with both him and Navy acquisition chief Sean Stackely, who will oversee major acquisition decisions on the F-35.