thedrifter
04-11-07, 03:24 PM
F-35 Price Tag Climbing
Fort Worth Star-Telegram | April 11, 2007
The Pentagon, in one of its periodic attempts to gauge the future costs of weapons programs, has raised its estimate for the total price tag of buying F-35 Lightning II fighter jets by $23.5 billion, or 8.5 percent.
But the latest report submitted to Congress on the cost of acquiring weapons doesn't blame the aerospace contractors building the planes, or even inflation.
Instead, the report released Monday says that the higher costs are largely because of decisions by Pentagon officials and Congress to buy fewer planes, to slow initial purchases of the new fighters and to stretch the planned production from 20 years to 27.
Anticipated higher costs for metals and other raw materials account for $5 billion of the higher cost estimate.
Pentagon planners now estimate the total cost of purchasing 2,458 planes for the Air Force, Navy and Marines at $299.8 billion, a figure that covers all anticipated costs from the beginning of the program in October 2001 through the end of the program. That figure is 43 percent higher than the original $209.4 billion estimate.
Earlier cost estimate revisions had raised the total cost to $276.5 billion.
The F-35 is being built in a three-way partnership by Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. The headquarters and final assembly site for most of the work is Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth.
When the initial contract was awarded in 2001, the Pentagon envisioned buying nearly 3,000 planes for the United States, a figure that was later reduced when the Navy cut its projected purchases. Initial plans called for buying the first five production airplanes in 2007 and 16 more in 2008. But Congress cut the 2007 buy to just two planes and the proposed 2008 defense budget would authorize purchase of 12 planes.
Eight foreign countries are partners in the program. They are expected to order 500 to 600 planes, and more foreign sales are anticipated.
Ellie
Fort Worth Star-Telegram | April 11, 2007
The Pentagon, in one of its periodic attempts to gauge the future costs of weapons programs, has raised its estimate for the total price tag of buying F-35 Lightning II fighter jets by $23.5 billion, or 8.5 percent.
But the latest report submitted to Congress on the cost of acquiring weapons doesn't blame the aerospace contractors building the planes, or even inflation.
Instead, the report released Monday says that the higher costs are largely because of decisions by Pentagon officials and Congress to buy fewer planes, to slow initial purchases of the new fighters and to stretch the planned production from 20 years to 27.
Anticipated higher costs for metals and other raw materials account for $5 billion of the higher cost estimate.
Pentagon planners now estimate the total cost of purchasing 2,458 planes for the Air Force, Navy and Marines at $299.8 billion, a figure that covers all anticipated costs from the beginning of the program in October 2001 through the end of the program. That figure is 43 percent higher than the original $209.4 billion estimate.
Earlier cost estimate revisions had raised the total cost to $276.5 billion.
The F-35 is being built in a three-way partnership by Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. The headquarters and final assembly site for most of the work is Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth.
When the initial contract was awarded in 2001, the Pentagon envisioned buying nearly 3,000 planes for the United States, a figure that was later reduced when the Navy cut its projected purchases. Initial plans called for buying the first five production airplanes in 2007 and 16 more in 2008. But Congress cut the 2007 buy to just two planes and the proposed 2008 defense budget would authorize purchase of 12 planes.
Eight foreign countries are partners in the program. They are expected to order 500 to 600 planes, and more foreign sales are anticipated.
Ellie