Saturday, November 29, 2008
F-35 development to cost $15 billion more
Inside the Air Force says developing the F-35 will take two years longer and cost $15 billion more than estimated.
The conclusion was made by an independent team of Pentagon cost analysts, however senior Pentagon leaders, at the direction of Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, have elected to largely disregard the report for now and hope that the more optimistic projections of program managers and Lockheed officials can be met, the publication reported.
Development and testing costs for the F-35 joint strike fighter could soar dramatically higher than Defense Department officials expect, a defense trade publication reported Wednesday.
An independent team of Pentagon cost analysts has concluded that completing development and testing of the next-generation Lockheed Martin-built F-35 Lightning II will take two years longer and cost $15 billion more than estimated, according to the report by Inside the Air Force.
Senior Pentagon leaders, at the direction of Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, have elected to largely disregard the report for now and hope that the more optimistic projections of program managers and Lockheed officials can be met, the publication reported.
The Pentagon will add $480 million to the F-35 testing budget for 2010 but is not planning to add development funds in future years.
Adding funds in 2010 "is extremely prudent," John Young, defense undersecretary for acquisition, told Inside the Air Force.
Young said Pentagon leaders, including England and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, were forced to choose between two widely divergent views of likely F-35 development progress and costs.
The independent team said it based its estimate on experience with other aircraft-development programs. The lower estimate was developed by the Pentagon’s in-house program managers.
Lockheed said in a statement that the internal Pentagon estimate "is overly conservative," based on progress and data so far.
"While some [development] budget challenges remain, we are confident that we will complete the program at a far lower cost than forecast" by the Pentagon cost estimators, the statement said.
If the development costs soar, it will force the Pentagon as part of the Obama administration to make a choice to delay production and shift money to development or to add funds, which would likely lead to cuts in other high-profile weapons programs.
Ajo que las encomendas de los paises del programa no seran tan grandes