F-35 costs kick up more controversy outside U.S.

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2013/06/21/F-35-costs-kick-up-more-controversy-outside-US/UPI-26311371851189/



F-35 costs kick up more controversy outside U.S.
Published: June 21, 2013 at 5:46 PM

WASHINGTON, June 21 (UPI) -- U.S. audit comments that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter may eventually be unaffordable are feeding into controversies in Canada, South Korea, Australia and Europe over the jet's future feasibility.

The F-35 purchase plan is by far the most controversial in Canada where Prime Minister Stephen Harper's conservative government is fighting battles with auditors and the opposition in and outside Parliament.

Those battles were not helped when federal auditor Michael J. Sullivan, acquisitions director of the Government Accountability Office, told a Senate subcommittee in Washington current projections call for a $316 billion outlay from development to purchase of the Lockheed Martin fighter jet through 2037.

Operation and maintenance costs for the U.S. inventory of the F-35 alone could top $1 trillion over a 35-year lifespan, Sullivan told the Senate defense appropriations subcommittee.

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But:

http://www.dailytech.com/Officials+F35+Joint+Strike+Fighter+Program+is+on+Track+but+Key+Milestones+Remain/article31807.htm

Officials: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program is on Track but Key Milestones Remain
Shane McGlaun (Blog) - June 20, 2013 9:07 AM

After years of delays and running over budget, officials are finally reporting some good news on the F-35 Lightning II program. Back in May, the program had reportedly reduced its costs by $4.5 billion. Key Pentagon officials have stated the F-35 project is now on target despite key milestones that must still be met.

The announcement came when Pentagon officials addressed the Senate panel this week.

“On the whole, the F-35 design today is much more stable [than in previous years],” Frank Kendall, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, told the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee.

Kendall also stated that the F-35 program would be ready for an increase in production during the fiscal 2015 budget. However, he did add that deadlines for software blocks and the special (unhappycamper comment: $250 grand) high-tech helmet required to support the F-35 technology suite still pose challenges.

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And:

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20130621/DEFREG03/306210017/Lockheed-Mitsubishi-Sign-F-35-FACO-Deal

Lockheed, Mitsubishi Sign F-35 FACO Deal
Jun. 21, 2013 - 05:08PM |
By AARON MEHTA

WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin has signed an agreement with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. to begin work on a final assembly and check out (FACO) facility for Japanese F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.


unhappycamper comment: You will need to go to the link to see this article, as Gannett complained about me posting more than one paragraph. (Thank goodness we are a nation of laws.)


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In spite of all this:

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123353285

F-35 is backbone of Air Force's future fighter fleet, Welsh says
Posted 6/20/2013
by Master Sgt. Angelita Colón-Francia
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

6/20/2013 - WASHINGTON, D.C. (AFNS) -- The Air Force's most advanced strike aircraft, the F-35 Lightning II, is a vital capability that the nation needs to stay ahead of adversary technological gains, the Air Force chief of staff told a Senate panel here, June 19.

Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Defense, Gen. Mark A. Welsh III said air superiority is critical to the nation's security and how the U.S. military plans to fight.

"The air superiority this nation has enjoyed for 60 years is not an accident and gaining and maintaining it is not easy," Welsh said. "It requires trained proficient and ready Airmen and it requires credible, capable and technologically superior aircraft. I believe the F-35 is essential to ensuring we can provide that air superiority in the future."

The F-35 is an unprecedented fifth generation fighter combining stealth technology with fighter speed and agility, fully integrated sensors and network enabled operations, and state-of-the-art avionics. However, design issues and production costs have put the F-35 program in real jeopardy.

Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall told the committee he believe those concerns have been addressed.

"The department's and my focus has been on the efforts to control costs on the program, and to achieve a more stable design so that we could increase the production rate to more economical quantities," Kendall testified. "Indications at this time are that these efforts are succeeding."

The Air Force intends to use a portion of the proposed fiscal 2014 budget to support current defense strategic guidance and modernization programs like the F-35.

"Potential adversaries are acquiring fighters on par with or better than our legacy fourth generation fleet," Welsh told the committee. "They're developing sophisticated early warning radar systems and employing better surface to air missile systems, and this at a time when our fighter fleet numbers about 2,000 aircraft and averages a little over 23 years of age -- the smallest and the oldest in the Air Force's history."

Welsh said America needs the F-35 to stay a step ahead and to "make sure the future fight is an away game and to minimize our risk to our ground forces when conflict inevitably does occur."

"The F-35 is the only real, viable option to form the backbone of our future fighter fleet," he said. "The F-35 remains the best platform to address the proliferation of highly capable integrated air defenses and new air-to-air threats."

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Here's a Canadian article from a few days ago:

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/03/06/f-35-design-problems-make-night-flying-impossible-increase-risk-of-being-shot-down-u-s-pilots-warn/

F-35 design problems make night flying impossible, increase risk of being shot down, U.S. pilots warn
Lee Berthiaume, Postmedia News | 13/03/06 | Last Updated: 13/03/06 6:17 PM ET

OTTAWA — It seems U.S. fighter pilots have lost that loving feeling for their new F-35 stealth jets.

At least that’s the impression given in a scathing Pentagon report leaked this week that identifies a huge number of problems facing the U.S. military’s F-35 fleet — including fears that it can easily be shot down.

From radars that don’t work, to blurry vision from the aircraft’s sophisticated helmet, to an inability to fly through clouds, the report, which includes pilot comments, paints a picture of a jet nowhere near ready for real-life operations.

F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin is refusing to comment, but the report’s revelations will likely give Canadian military planners pause as they continue assessing options for replacing Canada’s aging CF-18s.