The F-35 Stealth Fighter Could Soon Be Much Cheaper

[PeteS in CA]

The F-35 Stealth Fighter Could Soon Be Much Cheaper

https://www.19fortyfive.com/2021/06/the-f-35-stealth-fighter-could-soon-be-much-cheaper/

Lockheed Martin is hoping to reach an agreement with the Department of Defense regarding the signing of a multi-year performance-based logistics (PBL) contract that the company says would help to reduce its portion of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s cost per flying hour. This comes as Lockheed Martin is projecting its share of those costs to drop by 40 percent by 2025 even before a PBL contract is signed, a trend that the company expects to continue in the future.

PBL contracts look to shift the responsibility for successful outcomes of weapons programs to suppliers while also reducing overall lifecycle costs for those weapon systems. The idea behind a PBL contract is to shift the relationship between the supplier and customer to one focused on outcomes as opposed to transactions; that is, rather than selling weapons systems and spare parts along with maintenance and repairs, suppliers instead focus on delivering the reliability and availability of weapons systems at agreed-upon levels. Since the Department of Defense first began entering into PBL contracts, they have proven to be effective at lowering overall logistics costs incurred by DOD.

Negotiations for this probably predate Biden's inauguration.

[rangerrebew]

@PeteS in CA

How much of this news about the F 35 do you think  is disinformation for the benefit of Russia and China?  One day it's negative, the next day positive.

[PeteS in CA]

Hating on the F-35 is a cottage industry, so I'm skeptical of attacks from that side of things. This news is about the signing of a performance-based (= plane availability) contract. I was working at a company that provided displays for the F-14, F-15, F-16, F-18, A-10, and A-6 back in the late 70s. The F-15 and F-16 were having teething problems back then, being new. That the F-35 is now isn't all that surprising.

[rangerrebew]

With the next generation fighters already flying, it seems the AF could go either way.  The big problem, and maybe it's been solved, is the plane seemingly isn't very good when it goes supersonic, not good for the modern military.

[PeteS in CA]

If the Gen 6 prototype is actually flying, its still years away from becoming operational. I saw F-18 HUD S/N 001 (and the MDI and MDRI) go out the door from Kaiser back in 1978. It was years later that the Hornet became operational. And if there is a competition for the USAF's Gen 6 fighter between Boeing and ??, that pushes the operational date out a few years more.

[rangerrebew]

Aaaah, what's time when you're among enemies?