Dead business plan goes zombie

The F-35 business plan (build thousands-assume no engineering management goofs) was marked as unrealistic by the last DOD F-35 program boss, Admiral Venlet. Some of us knew the business plan was, to be kind, over-optimistic.


(From 2003. It's dead Jim.)


Bad business plans can't be papered over. The truth comes out no matter if some want to hear it or not.

LM stated the other day things were gaining ground on the F-35 program. The lie of the $67M unit cost was "reported" by "journalists" with no follow up.

Years ago, LRIP-5 was supposed to be 120 jets. Today? hard to say; the contract isn't signed off on yet. Somewhere around 30-40-some; if the program is lucky.

Now we have additional news--again confirming what some of us already knew--alerting the faithful that the F-35 business plan is in trouble and if LM doesn't get some more cash for LRIP-6...by the end of the year...the company will hold over $1B in risk.

Big companies don't hold risk, they shed it. I suspect that since we are in a lame-duck Congress, LM won't see their money and, at some point, that big production line without big production orders, will be converted to something much smaller. And that assumes the large amount of technical difficulties don't get worse. All to build an aircraft ready to fight ALLIED FORCE 1999, which may be deployed for active service 20 or more years later.

More: someone who has been reporting what can only be unnamed sources, floats the idea that the Navy could ditch the F-35C. Big Navy has big grey floaty things to pay for which ignore the history of the Prince of Wales and Repulse.

So if the Navy kills the F-35C, that is less motor orders, less part orders, less of everything and...the death spiral of what was supposed to be a "model acquisition program", continues.

SME's (and their overly optimistic business plans), all the way up to the prime contractor, are in trouble.

Advocate !!!

LOL.

I am writing to strongly urge you to support the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. America needs the F-35 for many reasons: to preserve our national security, to help strengthen our struggling economy, and to ensure that our men and women in uniform have every advantage we can give them. The fact that our nation is currently facing both economic and national security challenges means that we need to redouble our commitment to the F-35. Now is not the time to abandon the long-term investment we have made in the F-35---not when we are poised to see that investment start paying off.

The F-35 is the solution to our nation's aging fighter aircraft forces---most of our current fleet is approaching or well past the length of time it was intended to fly. Recently, senior Department of Defense officials publicly confirmed that the F-35 is the most cost effective solution for modernizing our fighter fleets with the required capabilities to be effective in future combat environments, and that there is no alternative to F-35. I couldn't agree more.
As America's premier 5th generation multi- role fighter, the F-35 exemplifies how our ingenuity and know-how continue to outpace our rivals---the F-35 represents a tremendous leap ahead in technology and will help America and its allies stay ahead of other nations' fighter capabilities for decades to come.

The F-35 also brings significant economic benefits to our nation. The program engages over 700 small business owners and leading manufacturers across the country, directly and indirectly supporting more than 127,000 jobs in 47 states. That number will increase to more than 260,000 when the F-35 reaches full-rate production. The F-35 program is a win-win proposition for our national security and our nation's declining manufacturing base.

This multi-role, stealth fighter will be the backbone of the Air Force, Navy, and Marines' fighter forces. It will provide advanced stealth aircraft to eight allied partners. Further, it will ensure the brave men and women of our armed services can continue to count on our air superiority to help them complete their missions and return home safely. We owe them nothing less.

While Washington continues to debate the issue of how to get America back to work, the F-35 is a clear job-creating, economy-boosting solution that has the added benefit of strengthening our national security, our relations with our allies, and our ability to ensure our competitive edge over potential adversaries. As a resident in your state, I urge you to support a steady increase in production and full funding for an affordable F-35 program. It is the right decision.

And also for the zombie army:

You can also spread the word by recruiting your friends and family to join the F-35 community.

Somehow I suspect that our tax dollars paid for this.