Lot 14 Negotiations and Cost

[SpudmanWP]

F-35 PEO: $75M unit cost by Lot 14 'within the art of the possible'

By Courtney Albon
April 9, 2019 at 11:25 AM

The unit cost of the F-35A could go as low as $75 million in Lot 14 of low-rate initial production if the program can improve supply chain and production line performance, the head of the program recently told Inside Defense . The joint program office has been working with prime contractor Lockheed Martin and engine-maker Pratt & Whitney to reduce the cost of the F-35A to $80 million by 2020. Program officials have said they think the jet's price tag...

Rest behind a paywall
https://insidedefense.com/daily-news/f- ... t-possible

[Corsair1963]

F-35 PEO: $75M unit cost by Lot 14 'within the art of the possible'

By Courtney Albon
April 9, 2019 at 11:25 AM

The unit cost of the F-35A could go as low as $75 million in Lot 14 of low-rate initial production if the program can improve supply chain and production line performance, the head of the program recently told Inside Defense . The joint program office has been working with prime contractor Lockheed Martin and engine-maker Pratt & Whitney to reduce the cost of the F-35A to $80 million by 2020. Program officials have said they think the jet's price tag...

Rest behind a paywall
https://insidedefense.com/daily-news/f- ... t-possible

Of course they will need to increase production even further! So, could this be a ploy by Lockheed Martin and USAF to not buy the F-15EX.

[SpudmanWP]

This item appeared in this year's budget as Item#1 under the F-35 footnotes

1) Airframe Unit Recurring Flyaway (URF) is directly affected by United States Air Force (USAF), Department of the Navy (DON) and International Partners quantity profile changes year over year

Translation

Stop FKING around with the schedule

[spazsinbad]

Lockheed Opens Negotiations on F-35 Lots 12-14, Aiming Below $80 Million Each [BEST READ AT SOURCE]
08 May 2019 John A. Tirpak​

"Lockheed Martin has made its opening offer to the F-35 Joint Program Office for negotiations on production Lots 12-14, and it expects to deliver on its previous agreement to get to $80 million a copy or less—for the airplane and engine—by 2020. “We currently have an offer submitted to the Department of Defense for Lots 12-14 that is below the $80 million F-35A for Lot 14 in 2020, per our longstanding agreement,” company spokesman Michael Friedman said in an email....

...Lots 12-14 also mark the start of the so-called “block buy,” which is being undertaken by most of the F-35 partner countries. By agreeing to pool three years’ worth of purchases, they will receive what amounts to a quantity discount from Lockheed. The US can’t participate in the block buy yet, because US law prohibits entering what is known in the US as a “multiyear contract” until after full-rate production is achieved. That happens next year. Nevertheless, the US can benefit from the quantities its F-35 partners are buying. A total of 385 F-35s have been delivered to all customers so far....

,,,Last week, Pentagon Cost Analysis and Program Evaluation chief Robert Daigle told a House Armed Services Committee panel his office does not “see a path” to get below $25,000 per flying hour on the F-35 by 2025. He said his office anticipates the true cost will be $36,000 per flying hour, in the same ballpark as the JPO’s estimate of $34,000 by that date. Vice Adm. Mat Winter, JPO director, told the panel the current cost per flying hour is $44,000, and said his organization is still trying to hit the goal of $25,000 by 2025, but he is not optimistic it can be achieved. Daigle said the CAPE expects F-35 sustainment costs to level off after 2025, because the oldest jets will by that time need more modifications and repair."

Source: http://www.airforcemag.com/Features/Pag ... -Each.aspx

[Corsair1963]

Clearly, the early blocks of F-35 are going to cost much more to maintain. Yet, to average for the entire fleet is really not fair.


I don't see them averaging the entire F-15 Fleet of F-15C's thru F-15EX's!

[SpudmanWP]

Once they upgrade the older LRIPs with the kits that they have already paid for, the older Lots will come inline with the newer ones in terms of upkeep.

[Corsair1963]

Once they upgrade the older LRIPs with the kits that they have already paid for, the older Lots will come inline with the newer ones in terms of upkeep.

Good Point! Yet, that will take sometime....

[SpudmanWP]

Of the 141 old Lot Jets built:

About 60 done so far (May 2019)
135 1 year from now (May 2020)
All done by Sept 2020.

[spazsinbad]

Ellen Lord: Lot 12 Contract For F-35s Soon
10 May 2019 Paul McLeary

"PENTAGON: The US will soon sign a new contract to acquire more F-35s, even as it scans the globe for alternate suppliers for parts currently being made in Turkey in the event the NATO ally is removed from the program .

“We would like to have a contract award in the June/July time frame,” Ellen Lord, the Pentagon’s chief acquisition official, told reporters Friday. That means it may well come in time for the Paris Air Show, held in the third week of June. The contract would be for Lot 12, following September’s $11.5 billion Lot 11 deal for 141 aircraft.

Under that deal, the price per F-35A aircraft fell to $89 million, and Lord said she expects costs to continue to slide for the next Low Rate of Initial Production (LRIP) lot.

There has been some talk about the Pentagon issuing multi-year contracts for future lots of the stealthy aircraft, including lots 15 through 17, but Lord refused to offer predictions for the future of the program. “I’m not sure I would call it a goal,” to enter into multi-year contracts, she said. “It’s under consideration. There are questions about the benefits of doing that as well as the negatives of doing that [but] any decision I make will be a data-driven decision.”..."

Source: https://breakingdefense.com/2019/05/ell ... -35s-soon/