The head of the DOD F-35 program has stated production of the F-35 must slow down.
The reasons are those that the critics have already mentioned for years: the concurrency built into the original F-35 business plan is just too much to handle.
The original F-35 business plan is officially…officially dead.
Richard Whittle over at AOL Defense has the breaking story. Read all of it.
For some of us, the idea that the F-35 program had troubles with hair on them is not news.
What is news is that somebody with responsibility is starting to tell it like it is.
In my opinion Admiral Venlet still has some work to do. For instance: understanding that even as- delivered, the F-35 doesn’t bring enough for real U.S. tac-air value. However, I understand he is also a prisoner of the DOD project management system.
7 comments:
Two quick comments:
I am pretty sure this author will hear all the crap naysayers send Bill Sweetman's way, he's antiF35, on BA payroll, on euro payroll, blah, blah,blah....stick with it Richard.
...."Fundamentally, that was a miscalculation," Venlet said. "You'd like to take the keys to your shiny new jet and give it to the fleet with all the capability and all the service life they want. What we're doing is, we're taking the keys to the shiny new jet, giving it to the fleet and saying, 'Give me that jet back in the first year. I've got to go take it up to this depot for a couple of months and tear into it and put in some structural mods, because if I don't, we're not going to be able to fly it more than a couple, three, four, five years.' That's what concurrency is doing to us." But he added: "I have the duty to navigate this program through concurrency. I don't have the luxury to stand on the pulpit and criticize and say how much I dislike it and wish we didn't have it. My duty is to help us navigate through it."
This comment from Venlet is the first true statement we have heard from an official gvt or LMT guy from the beginning of JSF. I feel some cofidence that MAYBE someone with some COMMONSENSE is in charge. I don't expect any miracles but just maybe something can still be salvaged from this debacle.
John Cleese is the Admiral:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npjOSLCR2hE
Admiral Venlet is the best thing to happen to the F-35. That he's been given permission to be this open speaks to how the F-35 is starting to be viewed by the current administration.
It's also stunning that a fighter program of this size and complexity/funding has only 18% percent of the necessary flight testing completed 10+ years into development. My guess is that we'll see IOC get pushed out again perhaps to 2020 next year IF large portions of the program don't get cancelled due to lack of funding.
With yet another slowdown in production the RAAF can kiss F-35 affordability goodby.
The Dr.Feelgood $65 million price tag is gone forever.
Wow, this is BIG! First, I applaud VAdm Venlet for having the courage to publically call a Spade a Spade.
Positives: US won't waste as much $$ on rework: Will give more time for software development to catch up: JPO finally getting tough with LM
Negatives: Reduced production rates will put additional pressure on foreign partners to fill their ever-widening fighter gaps elsewhere: Lower numbers of fielded A/C will have the effect of pushing out IOC by another several years; Will surely lead to reduced US buy, further increasing A/C cost; Expect training at Eglin AFB, FL to be even slower.
GE and RR are giving up the alternate engine. I was ok with spending some money on a second engine but this really makes me wonder, what does GE/RR know that we don't?
The obvious reason is there is no money and they acknowledge the fact that DOD isn't going to spend more money but the less obvious reason seems to me they don't believe anymore in the total production numbers either. If they believed there was still potential for a couple of thousand JSFs, wouldn't they try harder to stay on board this program? Not that they haven't tried but I just think there is more to this decision. Any thoughts on this?
I doubt the F-35 program can be kept alive till 2020 without major orders. It burns just to much money for that.
Vince, that is the problem. The massive orders that makes this program viable aren't going to happen and I think the GE/RR decision is one more sign that these orders aren't going to happen. The order rate for DOD isn't looking good (30 to 40) for the next couple of years and Europe with all their problems are looking at cuts. Makes no sense and no economical sense for GE/RR to stick around for what looks like a small production run.
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