The Pentagon said costs dropped on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program by $4.5 billion over a year, the first time a reduction was noted in the multi-service, multi-nation aircraft effort.
In a Selected Acquisition Report (SAR) submitted to Congress the night of May 23, the Pentagon pegs the total F-35 program cost at $391.211 billion as of the end of 2012, compared to $395.711 billion a year earlier.
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| The F-35B Marine Corps variant. Photo by Lockheed Martin |
“This is the first year a cost reduction was noted,” contractor Lockheed Martin [LMT] said in a statement.
The 92-page SAR on the Pentagon’s largest weapons program provides newer numbers for lawmakers to assess as F-35 officials look to ramp up production in fiscal year 2015.
The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) is poised to fully fund the Pentagon’s request for F-35 funding in FY ’13 when if marks up its version of the defense authorization bill on June 5. The HASC Tactical Air and Land Forces subcommittee granted preliminary approval to the F-35 funding on March 23, though it still noted concerns about the program’s long-term affordability in its version of the legislation.
“In prior years the committee has expressed concern with the Pentagon’s F-35 production plan being too aggressive, given F-35 lagging technology development, insufficient flight testing, and design instability,” Tactical Air subcommittee Chairman Michael Turner (R-Ohio) said in a statement. “The Pentagon has now done what the committee advocated several years ago, by reducing the annual procurement until the (research and development) R&D issues are better resolved and understood.”
The measure before the HASC calls for the Pentagon to task an independent team with reviewing the F-35’s software development.
The Pentagon plans to buy 2,443 F-35s in total. The Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps are expected to unveil to Congress this week their currently projected dates for when their different F-35 variants will reach initial operational capability.