Pentagon delays F-35, buys more Boeing fighters

Reuters ^ | Thu Jan 6, 2011 7:14pm EST | Andrea Shalal-Esa

[Pan_Yan]

(Reuters) - The Pentagon overhauled the Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter program for the second time in a year and said it would buy 41 Boeing Co F/A-18 warplanes over the next three years to offset slower production of the Lockheed plane.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced on Thursday a further restructuring of the radar-evading F-35 as part of a broad cost-reduction plan, saving it would result in net savings of about $4 billion over the next five years.

The Pentagon's biggest arms program, the new fighter is being developed with eight international partner countries at total cost of $382 billion, but the program has run into schedule delays and massive cost overruns in recent years.

Gates said work on the Air Force and Navy versions of the plane was moving along satisfactorily.

But he said the Marine Corps variant of the plane, which offers short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) capabilities, was put on a two-year "probation," and could be canceled if Lockheed was unable to fix significant test problems.

"If we cannot fix this variant during this time frame and get it back on track in terms of performance, cost and schedule, then I believe it should be canceled," Gates told reporters at a Pentagon briefing.

For now, he said adopting "a more realistic production schedule" and repricing would save $4 billion over the next five years. The changes must be approved by Congress.

A Pentagon document on the changes called for Lockheed to build 325 F-35s through fiscal 2016, instead of the 449 that were planned, and said cost-cutting efforts were still needed.

[freedumb2003]

The F35:

[RitaOK]

More government propping up the stock market.

[familyop]

After social program expenditures (like the VAWA, public school teacher pay, etc.), our government could probably afford to buy a Boeing Stearman from our elite contractors (way more expensive for us than the J-20 is for our "trading partner").

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Is the F-35 superior to the F-22 Raptor?

[Pan_Yan]

Is the F-35 superior to the F-22 Raptor?

I don't know enough to answer that adequately, though I've seen several threads where that question has been beaten about quite a bit. From what I understand the F-22 works and the F-35 doesn't.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

You have hit on the basis for my question. The Pentagon has cut back on the production of the Raptor but yet the F-35 JSF is still up in the air. I don’t understand the DoD decision unless we don’t intend to share the technology of the F-22 but we will of the F-35. Even then, why cut back on the F-22 while China and Russia are increasing their production of similar, possibly stolen, technology..

[VOA]

bump