F-35 Production Costs Still Unacceptable, Pentagon Officials Say | Aviation International News

F-35 Production Costs Still Unacceptable, Pentagon Officials Say

The expected costs to produce and sustain the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter in service are “simply unacceptable in this fiscal environment."

Lockheed Martin is flying the first two low-rate initial production F-35s. Those airplanes will join the development aircraft in test flights this year.

By Chris Pocock • Defense Correspondent

March 18, 2011

The expected costs to produce and sustain the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter in service are “simply unacceptable in this fiscal environment,” according to senior Pentagon officials. Air Force acquisition executive David Van Buren and F-35 Joint Program Office chief Vice Admiral David Venlet told a U.S. Congressional committee hearing this week that their latest cost estimates are credible, after the various recent reviews.

The 31 aircraft recently contracted in low-rate initial production (LRIP) Lot 4 at fixed prices will each cost $111.6 million (F-35A), $109.4 million (F-35B) and $142.9 million (F-35C), they reported. These figures exclude the cost of the F135 engines, which are procured separately from Pratt & Whitney. The latest production prices for these are $15 million each for the F-35A/C versions, and $32 million each for the F-35B STOVL versions.

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