U.S. sees first drop in F-35 costs; other programs steady

[unhappycamper]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/23/us-lockheed-fighter-idUSBRE94M18N20130523



U.S. sees first drop in F-35 costs; other programs steady
By Andrea Shalal-Esa
WASHINGTON | Thu May 23, 2013 6:54pm EDT

(Reuters) - The Pentagon on Thursday told Congress it expected a 1 percent drop in the cost of its biggest weapons program, the Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT.N) F-35 fighter jet, while averting the huge cost increases seen on other weapons programs in recent years.

The Defense Department's annual report to lawmakers showed a $40 billion, or 2.4 percent, cost increase in 78 major arms programs, mainly due to accounting changes and higher order quantities. But none of the cost increases were big enough to trigger the congressionally mandated live-or-die reviews that have been commonplace in recent years.

The cost of the developing and building the F-35, a new radar-evading fighter jet, is now projected at $391.2 billion, down from last year's estimate of $395.7 billion, according to the Pentagon's "selected acquisition report.

The report did not revise the projected $1.1 trillion cost of operating and maintaining the fleet of 2,443 new fighter jets over the next five decades, or the projected cost per flying hour, despite ongoing work by the F-35 program office and the main contractors to reduce those costs.



unhappycamper comment: Allegedly the Cost Per Flying Hour (CPFH) for the F-35A is around $31,900. But like most things 'defense' they always cost more --> http://www.aviationweek.com/Blogs.aspx?plckBlogId=Blog:27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7&plckPostId=Blog%3A27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3Af5843809-1a12-42de-8d48-e4d13eac94d5

My two cents: Banksters and corporations caused the financial meltdown in 2008. I do not see how bankrupting what's left of the US economy to make sure Lockheed Martin's balance sheet looks good is the correct thing to do.