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X-35 JSF

A widely-carried AP report aired the comments of Lockheed’s CEO, indicating his confidence that the $200 billion-and-counting endangered Joint Strike Fighter project can be delivered on time and on budget, which may make Pentagon estimates, which predict overages, unfair. The Government Accountability Office said development costs popped up another $10 billion last year due to technical problems and added weight to the plane. A Financial Times report revealed that the Pentagon itself is estimating those overages at closer to $5 billion. Lockheed’s chief notes that his firm delivered the F-16 largely at its predicted budget, but then that was done at a time when most current Lockheed engineers were contemplating high school.

The F/A-22 Joint Strike Fighter project, the world’s largest defense expenditure ever, has already been cut dramatically from 750 craft to 179, putting the cost per unit well over $1 billion.

The GAO recently said that the very structure of the JSF program would need to be changed before it would make sense for the government to continue spending.

Related Stories: – F/A-22 Raptor Receives Kudos, Criticism – GAO Releases Study of F-22, F-35 Programs – New Jet Fighter May Prove Victim of its Cost – Pentagon to Cut Many Major Procurement Programs – A First: Guard Unit to Train on New Stealth Fighter