Tue, Feb 28, 2012
Amount Projected To Fly 2,443 F-35 Fighters For 50 Years
Operation of a fleet of 2,443 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters will
cost the U.S. taxpayers nearly a trillion dollars over 50 years,
according to Lt. Gen. Terry Robling, deputy commandant of the
Marine Corps for aviation. The Pentagon is reportedly looking into
ways to drive those costs down.
F-35B File Photo
In an interview with Reuters, Robling said that while it is
understood that the cost of the program is high, "everybody was on
board" to continue with initial low-rate production of the
aircraft. He had just attended a ceremony involving three of the
VTOL "B" variant of the airplane at Eglin AFB in Florida.
Robling sad that unless those costs can be constrained, the
Pentagon will be faced with difficult choices, including buying
fewer of the jets, or reducing anticipated flight hours. All of
those decisions, he said, are five to 10 years in the future.
While Robling said that the program is "unaffordable" given the
current estimates, that figure is a moving target while the
aircraft is still in development. He noted that projected operating
costs of the V-22 Osprey had fallen 30 percent since it was first
introduced. "We'll learn on the JSF as we go," he said, adding that
the costs were expected to be lower. Among the factors in lower
operating costs are the airplane's composite construction, which
will eliminate much standard anti-corrosion work, as well as the
number of sensors installed on the aircraft which will help
maintenance personnel better isolate and address issues with the
aircraft.
He added that both prime contractor Lockheed Martin and the
Pentagon had come a long way in program management over the past
two years, finding significant savings.
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