F-35 programoppdatering

AVALON: F-35 programme chief cites slow, steady progress

By: GREG WALDRON

MELBOURNE

Source: 

06:15 24 Feb 2015

The executive officer of the Lockheed Martin F-35 joint programme 

office is cautiously optimistic that the aircraft is on track to achieve 

key objectives, and that unit costs will continue to fall for the platform.

Speaking to journalists at the biennial Avalon air show, USAF 

Lt Gen Chris Bogdan said that memories of severe delays and 

problems prior to the F-35's "re-baselining" exercise in 

2010-11 continue to overshadow the programme, but much progress 

has been made in finding ways to drive down costs. Crucially, 

the relationship between the US government and key contractors, 

Lockheed and Pratt & Whitney, has improved.

"The programme is seeing slow, steady progress," he says.

Bogdan's comments were widely anticipated among media attending 

the show. In 2013, he used the same venue to lash out at Lockheed 

and Pratt & Whitney, bemoaning what he viewed as the bad 

relationship between the US government and the two main

 contractors in the F-35 programme.

Since then, he says the relationship has improved mainly through a 

better balancing of risk between the government and the two key 

contractors.

Bogdan placed a great deal of emphasis on the jet's affordability. 

He estimates that by 2019 the cost of a single F-35A should will 

be around $80-85 million, which includes the aircraft, its F135 engine, 

inflation, and a profit margin for contractors.

"This is an important number," he says. "If you look across the 

landscape of fighter aircraft, this gets close to what you pay for 

a fourth generation aircraft. If a country has a choice between a 

fourth generation aircraft and a fifth generation aircraft at roughly 

the same price, that is a pretty easy decision in my mind."

There is a strong emphasis on costs. The "blueprint for 

affordability" programme sees the JPO incentivise contractors to 

cut costs related to the aircraft. Bogdan also hopes to include 

Foreign Military Sales (FMS) under a 'block buys' proposal, 

which could help drive economies of scale through the negotiation 

of multi-year contracts for new F-35s, as opposed to annual contracts.

A "cost war room" has been established to identify potential cost

 savings.

One example he gives of a war room success relates to the F-35's 

panel fasteners. Previously, these had a tendency to break, forcing 

maintenance personnel to fish around inside the aircraft for debris. 

This was identified as a waste of time and resources, and led 

to a fastener redesign. More automation is also being used to 

create the fighter's canopy, whereas previously this process relied 

almost entirely on manual labour.

Bogdan points to impressive growth in production numbers in the 

coming years. After the production of 36 F-35s in 2014, 45 will be 

produced in 2015, 61 in 2016, 72 in 2017, 93 in 2018, 102 in 2019, 

and 120 in 2020.

In regard to programme delays, Bogdan admits that they 

continue to be an issue, but says that delays now are registered in 

days and weeks, while previously delays were measured in 

years. Still,the F-35 programme still consumes $185 million per 

month in development costs.

Bogdan also remains confident that the US Marine Corps is 

on track to grant the F-35B initial operating capability this year. 

He adds that discussions with potential overseas customers, 

including Singapore, are deepening.

"The best marketing you can do is to succeed," says Bogdan.