somewhere, PukinDog is laughing...
Posted on 04/12/2018 6:16:11 AM PDT by BBell
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Defense has stopped accepting most deliveries of F-35 jets from Lockheed Martin Corp because of a dispute over who will cover costs for fixing a production error, three people familiar with the matter said.
Lockheed confirmed on Wednesday that the Pentagon had halted deliveries of the jet over a contractual issue, but did not give further details.
Last year, the Pentagon stopped accepting F-35s for 30 days after discovering corrosion where panels were fastened to the airframe, an issue that affected more than 200 of the stealthy jets. Once a fix had been devised, the deliveries resumed, and Lockheed hit its target aircraft delivery numbers for 2017.
But deliveries were paused again over a dispute as to who will pay for what will likely be a complex logistical fix that could require technicians to travel widely to mend aircraft based around the world, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
When the Pentagon stops taking delivery of F-35s, foreign customers can also be affected. So far at least two foreign governments have stopped accepting F-35s as a result of this issue, two of the sources said.
A Lockheed spokeswoman said on Wednesday: “Production on the F-35 program continues and we are confident we will meet our delivery target of 91 aircraft for 2018. While all work in our factories remains active, the F-35 Joint Program Office has temporarily suspended accepting aircraft until we reach an agreement on a contractual issue and we expect this to be resolved soon.”
It was not clear when the suspension of deliveries began.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The fastening issue on the F-35 fleet was not affecting flights
(Excerpt) Read more at oann.com ...
One day.
If the problem really is a production error, then there should be no dispute whatsoever over who pays the costs of repairs. The contractor is responsible for the costs of repairs. Unless someone is under orders not to offend one of our major defense contractors...
Last year, the Pentagon stopped accepting F-35s for 30 days after discovering corrosion where panels were fastened to the airframe
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Corrosion? I can buy a crummy new car for under $20k, drive it thru 10 N.E. Winters with roads salted like the Dead Sea and there is no corrosion. The auto manufacturers have figured out the metallurgy to fight corrosion. Is that too much to ask for an aircraft that costs more than the deficit of Greece?
Good. About time lockheed hurts at least a little over this mess.
Trump needs to interject himself into this contract and expose the stupidity the Military typically contracts. Any other place, the product better be delivered timely and according to specs. But no, not the government. The contractual abuses by General Dynamic are good examples. Cost overruns, late delivery, repairs paid for by the tax payers, and so on. Let Elon Musk contract for this. Put these big government parasites out of business and back to reality.
But, just for one day!
One day, and then it will need further “upgrades”.
The F-35 is a monument to weapons projects run by politics.
Like socialism, it’s doomed to fail.
Read a recent report on the current problems with this plane. It’s insane. It has design flaws and problems everywhere. Requires something like 4-5 hours maintenence time for every 82 minutes of operation. And the heads up targeting system is off, and apparantly they don’t know how to fix. It won’t shoot where it is aimed. Failed close ground support role. Has to shoot from 15k feet, via radio and spotters. For real.
Comms bad...Software is a mismash. Etc.
Forced acceptance on waivers for failed acceptance tests.
Just a giant cf, no end in sight. Money pit. Doesn’t work.
Yea i read that report.
The list of problems is almost endless.
somewhere, PukinDog is laughing...
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