DoD: F-35 costs rise at least 50 percent

[rossana <rossana at comodinoposta.org>]

Il costo dell'F-35 aumenterà almeno del 50%

By John Reed - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Mar 11, 2010 13:36:57 EST

The F-35 Lightning II strike fighter program will breach the 
Nunn-McCurdy limits with a cost growth of more than 50 percent from the 
original 2001 program baseline, said a top Pentagon program evaluator.

Christine Fox, director of the Defense Department’s Cost Assessment and 
Program Evaluation office, told lawmakers Thursday that the formal 
declaration of the breach will occur April 1.

She said the Pentagon has known of this since October. That’s one month 
earlier than had previously been reported.

The Defense Department’s latest estimates predict that each of the jets 
slated to be purchased will carry a price tag of between $80 million and 
$95 million in 2002 dollars. That's $95 million and $113 million in 2009 
dollars, respectively.

In 2001, the Defense Department pegged the cost per Joint Strike Fighter 
at $50.2 million apiece for 2,852 jets. The Pentagon updated that 
estimate to $69.2 million in 2007 for a planned order of 2,443 jets.

The Pentagon expects to have a final estimate on the plane’s cost ready 
in early June, when it completes the Nunn-McCurdy re-certification 
package, Fox told the Senate Armed Services committee during a hearing.

Fox compared the F-35 program to earlier Pentagon aircraft that 
ultimately produced planes that are “valuable to DoD,” such as the C-17 
and the F-22. She noted that F-22 “repeatedly failed to meet key 
performance, schedule and cost goals throughout its development 
program,” yet Lockheed Martin was ultimately able to produce “a capable 
aircraft.”

Ashton Carter, defense undersecretary for acquisition, technology, and 
logistics, said at the hearing that the Initial Operational Capability 
dates for the U.S. Air Force and Navy F-35 have been shifted to 2016, a 
three- and two-year delay respectively. The Marine Corps date remains 
2012, he said.

The Marine aircraft will use Block 2 software, whereas the Navy and Air 
Force jets will use the Block 3 version.

Carter said Air Force Secretary Michael Donley would inform Congress of 
the breach within days.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/03/defense_jsf_breach_031110w/

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http://armed-services.senate.gov/statemnt/2010/03%20March/Fox%2003-11-10.pdf
http://armed-services.senate.gov/statemnt/2010/03%20March/Sullivan%2003-11-10.pdf