The Pentagon is defending progress on the Marine Corps version of the Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jet despite some $90 million in spending needed to fix a problem with its F135 engine built by Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp.
Air Force Major General Charles Davis, the Pentagon's programme chief, said on Friday he expected to complete negotiations by the end of August with Lockheed and the engine makers on contracts for six of the short takeoff, vertical landing (STOVL) F-35Bs being built for the Marines, Britain and Italy.
The Pentagon released $1 billion in funding for the planes last month after the first flight of the F-35B in conventional mode on June 11 and a July review of the propulsion system. Lockheed is developing three variants of the F-35 under a $299 billion US project in partnership with Britain, Turkey, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway.
Davis said the engine problem - which affected operations only in the higher-powered STOVL mode - had been disappointing and costly, but did not constitute "a huge issue of concern," since Pratt & Whitney had been able to make needed design changes to avert cracks in the turbine blades fairly quickly. He said spending on the remedy would be limited to design costs, and the contracts for the six new STOVL planes and their engines would actually come in "below" the projected costs.
Davis said the engine issue had delayed the first flight of the F-35B in STOVL mode by about three months, but significant work testing other components of the STOVL propulsion system had already been completed, which had helped reduce the risk. The delay would not affect deliveries of 138 F-35Bs to Britain, or the 50 to 60 that Italy plans to buy, Davis said. Israel, Spain and Singapore were also exploring whether to buy the F-35B, Davis said.
Israel was interested in getting the F-35 into its fleet "as quickly as we possibly can," and hoped to sign a letter of commitment for an initial purchase of 25 conventional takeoff and landing versions next year, Davis said. That would allow the US to begin training Israeli pilots as early as 2013, with an eye to delivering the warplanes in 2014.
"The earlier the better, in their view," he said. Any Israeli purchases of F-35Bs would come later, he said, noting Israel and Singapore were each eyeing purchases of 100 F-35s. Davis said technical development of the fighter jet was going "very, very well" and cost growth on the programme was in line with historical levels on previous fighter jet programmes.
When the programme reaches full production rates around 2014, the F-35A conventional take-off and landing version is projected to cost about $69 million apiece, while the F-35B short take-off, vertical landing model would run about $85 million. "I think that's a fair price," Davis said, noting the Eurofighter Typhoon was selling for about $130 million.
About 90 percent of the programme's cost growth so far stemmed from factors outside the programme's control, including metal prices, labour rates and health care costs, he said. Davis said nothing had emerged during the military's long-term budget planning for the period beginning in fiscal 2010 that worried him, but much would depend on the actions of Congress and the intentions of the next administration.
World economic conditions and budget pressures in the United States and overseas were more worrisome factors that could affect the future of the programme than any technical challenges facing the F-35 programme, he said.
Joe Nadol at J.P. Morgan forecast a fairly rosy outlook for Lockheed's airplane programmes in coming years, but he said the success of the F-35 programme was "absolutely crucial." Another setback with the F135 engine "would certainly be a major problem," he wrote in an analyst note on Friday. Lockheed's main F-35 subcontractors are Northrop Grumman Corp and BAE Systems. Two interchangeable F-35 engines are being developed by Pratt, and a team of General Electric Co and Rolls-Royce Group.
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