Lockheed’s F-35: The bill provides funding for all 29 F-35s requested by the Pentagon. It also permits the Pentagon to start advance hardware purchases for 39 of the next 42 fighters that the Pentagon plans to buy in fiscal 2015. Senate appropriators had voted in August to fund parts purchases for no more than 36 planes.
This also from Bloomberg:
“While risks remain, progress on the F-35 program at this point has been adequate to support a decision to budget for increased rates,” Frank Kendall, under secretary for acquisition, said in a decision memo to the Air Force and Navy secretaries dated yesterday.
It is Kendall that approved waivers for Chinese communist parts to find their way into the F-35 supply chain.
While low rate initial production for the F-35 continues, federal procurement law prohibits this unless milestone-C is in place (PDF here).
Milestone-C is not expected for some years.
Kendall also stated this:
“Progress in the development program has been close to plan,” Kendall said.
Kendall’s decision memo outlines the findings from a Defense Acquisition Board program review on Oct. 21. While the memo isn’t a guarantee that quantities will be increased in annual contracts, it indicates Kendall is confident that money can be budgeted in the five-year fiscal 2015 plan to be released next year.
The Pentagon’s current five-year plan calls for increasing F-35 production to 42 jets in fiscal 2015, which begins Oct. 1, 2014, from 29 this year and in fiscal 2013. The rate would increase to 62 in 2016, 76 in 2017 and 100 in 2018, according to internal Pentagon budget documents. The new plan will be released next year with the Pentagon’s fiscal 2015 budget plan.
Analysis?
No one in DOD wants to say, "maybe we shouldn't be doing this." And, those same people don't care much about law. Anything can have a waiver.
LM stocks are doing extremely well.
H/T-Mark
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