Take a look how the predicted F-35 production numbers (per year) have evaporated over time as reality set in. The vertical column is the year of a stated "plan" at the time from the PowerPoint warriors. And even the January 2011 "plan" has shrunk a bit over the months.
It makes you wonder how a quote like this can be taken seriously.
“It will affordable because already there are 3,000 aircraft on the order books.”
—27 June 2002, Air Marshal Houston, Defence press announcement, Australia joins the F-35 program—
It makes you wonder how a quote like this can be taken seriously.
As strange as it may seem, that is what Lockheed Martin vice president Stephen O'Bryan told CBC News in an interview at the company's vast F-35 manufacturing plant in Fort Worth, Texas last week. Sure, the early prototypes are hideously costly — more than $150 million a copy, but Canada won't be buying until 2016, when production is at full speed, says O'Bryan, so the cost of each jet will fall.
By then, he says, "average unit price of the airplane would be $65 million." Is that with an engine? "Yes, sir."
It makes you wonder how a quote like this can be taken seriously.
The F-35s in low-rate initial production (LRIP) Lot 4 are expected to exceed their contracted cost target, but fall below the negotiated ceiling price, says Tom Burbage, vice president of F-35 program integration for Lockheed Martin.
Especially since many of these aircraft will have to have their wing fixed after the fact in a process LM described as complex and time consuming.
It makes you wonder how a quote like this can be taken seriously.
The Defence spokesman said as a result of significant restructuring of the project, publicly announced in early 2010 and early 2011, about 240 planes had been ''moved to the right'' (deferred).
Why 2016 on the chart? That is the year that people like Canadian Defence Minister Mackay and LM state that we shouldn't worry. Canada will be getting their F-35s during "peak production" and thus comes a low price.
The evidence disproves their theory.
2 comments:
Are we really going to see 32 JSFs built this year (FY11)?
LM management must be both magicians and wonderworkers if they recently said they can hit a $65M cost WITH engine, etc. included. The LRIP-4 average aircraft cost was $114.3M WITHOUT an engine and latest engine LRIP cost was approx. $30M each. Even if the engine cost can be gotten down to $20-25M, that only leaves $40-45M for the airframe, etc. This means that they will have to reduce the LRIP-4 cost by two-thirds in production! What are these guys smoking and do they really think they can get their partners and DoD to smoke the same stuff?
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