Lockheed’s CEO wants to fund a hypersonic wind tunnel, but says DoD isn’t buying in
“It's not just Lockheed Martin,” Lockheed CEO Jim Taiclet said. “Industry is willing to invest in efficiency. It's willing to invest in capacity. But the constraints of the Federal Acquisition Regulation limit our ability to invest and get great [return on investment] for investors while helping the government.”
By VALERIE INSINNA
on June 02, 2022 at 1:04 PM
WASHINGTON: Lockheed Martin is willing to build a new wind tunnel to test hypersonic weapons, but the company hasn’t been able to get a revenue commitment from the US government that would allow it to obtain the financing from Wall Street, Lockheed’s chief executive said today.
During the Bernstein 38th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference, Lockheed CEO Jim Taiclet said the defense firm would need the Pentagon sign onto a five-to-10-year minimum revenue commitment in order for Lockheed to finance the project.
“I’m willing to invest what it would take to build another hypersonic test cell — a wind tunnel — so that we could accelerate our hypersonic programs,” Taiclet said. “I can’t get the commitment.”
https://breakingdefense.com/2022/06/lockheeds-ceo-wants-to-fund-a-hypersonic-wind-tunnel-but-says-dod-isnt-buying-in/?_ga=2.159754362.690618826.1654256974-1439453846.1654256973
