The projected cost to develop and produce the Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 Joint Strike Fighter rose 4.3 percent or $16.3 billion to $395.7 billion in 2011, the Pentagon announced on Thursday. It said the cost of the aircraft alone rose 3.3 percent or $10.7 billion, mainly due to use of revised escalation indexes and the impact of a slower rate of production in the short term, plus higher labour hours and slower procurement by international partners.
The cost of the plane's F135 engine, built by Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp, rose 9.7 percent or $5.6 billion due to an increase in the number of initial spares, revised escalation indexes, and slower near-term production numbers. The Pentagon said it had approved continued low-rate production, and now expected to move into full-rate production in 2019, two years later than planned.