Posted on 02/15/2012 1:10:09 AM PST by U-238
Delays in U.S. and international orders for Lockheed Martin Corp's new F-35 fighter jet will increase its total cost, Lockheed and U.S. officials said on Tuesday, as Italy announced a cut in spending on the warplane.
On Monday, the Pentagon confirmed plans to put off orders for 179 F-35s over the next five years to save $15.1 billion and allow more time for testing, a third restructuring in recent years.
U.S. officials insist they have not changed their plans to develop and buy 2,443 jets at a cost of $382 billion over the next few decades.
Continued schedule delays and talk of lingering technical issues have prompted the eight countries that are helping to fund development of the new plane -- Britain, Australia, Turkey, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Italy and the Netherlands -- to rethink their own near- and long-term plans.
Acting Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall said the U.S. decision and any delays in international orders would drive up the average price per unit of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Pentagon's costliest weapons program.
Kendall, speaking to reporters after a defense conference hosted by Aviation Week, gave no detailed cost estimates.
In Oslo, Lockheed executive vice president Tom Burbage told Reuters that U.S. plans to drag out its purchases of the F-35 would increase the price of the plane somewhat."
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
I bet that it could be built in China much cheaper!
Wait...
And Congress cancelled the F-22 becuase of high cost of about $152 million per aircraft for the cheaper F-35 which if you do the math in the article is $156 million each.
hmmm...wonder what the going price per game of midnight basketball is these days...
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They canceled the F-22 because it worked well albeit a bit of a hanger queen apparently. But the F35 is a plane designed by a committee and so will not do anything well - obviously the better choice for politicians to spend more money on.
Rule of thumb for bureaucrats and politicians - solving problems puts them out of work, but creating new or expanding old problems keeps them employed.
To paraphrase Dick Jones - We have a guaranteed military sale with the F-35. International sales, renovation programs, spare parts for 25 years. Who cares if it works or not?
Current cost for this money hole is over 180 million per copy and over 65,000 per hour operation cost.
Both seem to be a relative waste of $$$. Close your eyes and look at what we’ve done in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan with drones. Pretty sure we can design stealthy drones to swarm into countries in order to disarm air protection and take out command and control for a heck of a lot less money. The need to produce dogfighting aircraft doesn’t make sense to me. but hey, what do I know.
But the hidden factor that no one wants to talk about is the number of aircraft sold to foreign nations. This sale ranges from out right buys to co-production.
Why do I bring this up? In the face of WORLD economic crises how many nations will honor their commitment to buy squadron(s) of these new and extremely expensive aircraft?
What external threats justify spending money on defense issues when your country is under 10 feet of snow and the power grid is about to collapse?
IMHO the F-35 program has great potential to emulate the B-2 program. The total number built will go down and individual unit costs go up until only one nation can go further into debt to buy these new weapon systems.
That's my point....can you imagine those jerks in Iran trying to track 7,000 drones entering their air space at once? As soon as we destroy all their command and control and anit aircraft radar, we bring in the BUFFS and deliver the JDAMs
The air force knows this, that is why they do not want the planes.
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