It is not a Virginia-class submarine or a Super Hornet: systems that have everything figured out.
Read this article of F-35 program woes where reality doesn't agree with the unicorn dreams.
DB's comments at the end are on the mark.
Don Bacon on Jun 13, 2015
Multi-year procurements, which the Pentagon (acquisition chief Frank Kendall) intends, are prohibited during system development by 10 U.S. Code § 2306b. Kendall intends to evade the law by calling his MYP a "block buy" which is Pentagon-speak not covered by any statute. This evasion of the law has been done before, but never on this scale. Regarding what it's called, a rose by any other name....
The meaning of the law is that F-35 MYP could start only after Milestone C production decision, April 2019, when the plane's design would be approved. According to 10 U.S. Code § 2306b - Multiyear contracts require "That there is a stable design for the property to be acquired and that the technical risks associated with such property are not excessive."
The F-35 is still deep in development. As a result of engineering changes mandated by past and future testing these faulty planes will all be subject to retrofit at great cost, at depots yet to be built and staffed, a situation (i.e. "concurrency") once described by Kendall as "acquisition malpractice" when it was on a small scale not involving hundreds of aircraft as his new plan would do. That would be mucho-malpractice and just plain wrong. There is no need to break the law, and it's stupid to do so particularly when the only reason for it is to enhance LockMart profits.
Money would be saved by obeying the law, and in the meantime improving quality at the F-35 Ft. Worth factory, which has been found deficient by the Pentagon Inspector General. That's another reason not to ramp up production. Sloppy workmanship is expensive.
In any case potential foreign buyers seem less than enthusiastic about buying these expensive works-in-progress so that's a good sign.
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