Posted on 11/04/2004 10:10:25 PM PST by rmlew
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon (news - web sites)'s top weapons buyer on Thursday cleared Lockheed Martin Corp.'s (NYSE:LMT - news) continued development of its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the biggest warplane project ever and one valued at more than $245 billion, the Defense Department said.
Michael Wynne, the Pentagon's acting undersecretary of defense for acquisition, approved the project's "path forward" and a slimmed-down variant, according to a synopsis of his decisions.
The go-ahead clears the way to shoot for first developmental flight testing of the conventional model in the third quarter of 2006, said Kathy Crawford, a spokeswoman for the Pentagon's F-35 program office.
The Pentagon aims to develop and build more than 5,000 F-35 aircraft by 2027, with some 2,400 to be used by the U.S. military at an estimated cost of at least $245 billion. At least 2,500 are expected to be sold overseas.
Eight foreign nations have committed a combined total of about $4.5 billion to the radar-evading, single-engine, single-seat supersonic multi-role fighter. They are Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Turkey, Australia, Norway, Denmark and Canada.
Lockheed spokesman Thomas Greer said the company was pleased with "the confidence and direction given to us" by Wynne and his colleagues on the Defense Acquisition Board that reviewed the project.
Wynne also cleared General Electric Corp.(NYSE:GE - news) for the development of an F-35 engine that would be interchangeable with that being built by United Technologies Corp.'s (NYSE:UTX - news) Pratt & Whitney unit, the synopsis of his "acquisition decision memorandum" said.
Lockheed shares were recently trading unchanged at $55.89. GE shares were up 66 cents to $34.99 in afternoon trading.
General Electric is to get a transition contract "in a manner consistent with preparing for system development and demonstration," a major development stage, the statement said.
Some Defense Department officials had opposed the dual engine development program as too costly. General Electric is now expected to enter into a full-fledged development contract next summer, Crawford said.
Ahead of the review, Lockheed Martin shaved excess weight that had been delayed the aircraft's short take-off vertical landing model, including making its bomb bays smaller, Crawford said.
Other changes would boost the engine's performance, reduce aerodynamic drag and increase the efficiency of sub-systems by tweaking their on-board placement, she added.
Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed, the Pentagon's No. 1 supplier, was awarded a prime contract for the F-35 in October 2001 after a fly-off contest with Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA - news), the No. 2 U.S. military contractor.
Fine...
America longs for the X-45.
F-35 Ping
Thank you America f-35
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