The Pentagon is considering the idea of inserting an "18-24 month risk reduction period" into the Joint Strike Fighter program. This delay would be inserted just after one single design is chosen, but before the expensive "engineering and manufacturing development" phase. Such a phase would be used to refine the design and eliminate any problems which haven't been solved (or found) yet. This would give the Navy and Air Force some budget breathing space, since they don't have a specific date that they need JSF. The loser would be the Marine Corps, which is desperate for a Harrier replacement.--Stephen V Cole