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May 29, 2020 | International, Aerospace

F-35 Costs Drop for Building Jets But Rise for Operating Them

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29 mai 2020 à 04:00 UTC−4

The Pentagon's costliest program, Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-35, is starting to look a little less expensive, with the latest estimate for development and procurement down 7.1% to $397.8 billion.

Less encouraging for the lawmakers who craft defense budgets and for taxpayers: Operating and maintaining the fleet for 66 years is projected to cost $1.182 trillion, a 7.8% increase over the estimate from the Pentagon's F-35 office last year, according to the Defense Department's annual assessment of the jet obtained by Bloomberg News.

The lower acquisition estimate produced by the F-35 program office is the latest in a string of good news that also includes improved on-time delivery of aircraft, the elimination of all flaws that were considered life-threatening to pilots and a steady reduction since 2018 in the number of potentially mission-crippling software deficiencies.

The Selected Acquisition Report, which hasn't been released to the public, also said the F-35 program anticipates sales over time of 809 aircraft to international partners, up from the 764 projected last year.

Cumulatively, the improvements might protect the F-35 from pressure to cut defense budgets as the federal deficit balloons due to spending for the Covid-19 pandemic. The Pentagon is already projecting mostly flat budgets through 2025.

Even under the current budget forecast, the Pentagon report discloses that previous plans to buy 94 F-35s in fiscal 2022 will be reduced by nine. The blueprint then calls for buying 94 each year in fiscal 2023 and 2024 and 96 in fiscal 2025. Those are up from the 79 requested for fiscal 2021.

The report was prepared in December before the coronavirus pandemic crippled the global economy. Lockheed announced last week that Covid-19 impacts will temporarily slow F-35 production because of subcontractor parts delays and that the Bethesda, Maryland-based company might fail to deliver as many as 24 of a planned 141 jets this year.

Earlier: Lockheed Slows F-35 Production on Covid-Related Parts Delays

More than 500 of a potential 3,200 F-35s for the U.S. and allies already have been delivered and will have to be retrofitted as flaws are fixed, at a cost of as much as $1.4 billion. The F-35 is in the final stages of intense combat testing to demonstrate it's effective against the most advanced Russian, Chinese and Iranian threats.

Lockheed spokesman Brett Ashworth said the report “highlights our ability to work with our partners to produce the world's most advanced fighter at the cost of legacy aircraft” the F-35 is intended to replace. Brandi Schiff, a spokeswoman for the Pentagon's F-35 program office, declined to comment on the report before its release.

The Pentagon assessment says that updating its numbers based on actual production performance data by Lockheed and its subcontractors, rather than projections, resulted in the reduction in acquisition cost estimates. For example, the “unit flyaway cost” of an F-35 for the Air Force's version of the fighter, not including the engine, declined by $12.1 million to $57.4 million. The Air Force plans to purchase 1,763 jets, the most of the U.S.'s planned 2,456 aircraft. The Marine Corps version dropped to $72.1 million from $80 million, and the Navy model fell to $72.3 million from $79.5 million.

None of that resolves the projected long-term trillion-dollar burden of operating and sustaining the fleet through 2077.

Outlining the stakes, then-acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said in March 2019 that “this is the largest program in DoD history and the cost of sustainment is about the same cost as nuclear modernization.”

In the new report the F-35 program office said that it “remains committed to and continues pursuing multiple efforts to drive down” those costs.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-29/f-35-costs-drop-for-building-jets-but-rise-for-operating-them

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  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - June 08, 2020

    June 9, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - June 08, 2020

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This contract provides for the repair of 154 national stock numbers applicable to the B1-B aircraft/electronic countermeasures. Work will be performed in Amityville, New York, and is expected to be completed June 5, 2025. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2020 consolidated sustainment activity group-engineering funds will be used to fund individual orders issued against the basic contract. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Air Force Sustainment Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8522-20-D-0002). NAVY Nova Group Inc., Napa, California, is awarded a $43,771,888 firm-fixed-price contract (N44255-20-C-1002) for Pier 3 and Dry Dock 4 modernization at the Naval Base Kitsap, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the intermediate maintenance facility. All work will be performed in Bremerton, Washington. The work to be performed is to construct seven new electrical substations, demolish four substations, alter Dry Dock 4 and Pier 3 electrical distribution systems, enclose service utility galleries to prevent flooding during docking operations and Pier 3 piles modifications. Work is expected to be complete by August 2023. Fiscal 2020 military construction contract funds in the amount of $43,771,888 are obligated on this award and do not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Five proposals were received for this contract. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Northwest, Bremerton, Washington, is the contracting activity. Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, is awarded a $42,772,449 cost-plus-award-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-18-C-2313 to exercise options for the accomplishment of lead yard class services for the DDG 51-class destroyer program. 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The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. Space Ground System Solutions LLC,* Melbourne, Florida, is awarded a $29,596,469 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for research and prototype development of spacecraft electronics and space/airborne electronic systems and maintenance, development, enhancement and testing supporting mission operations of Department of Defense space assets. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C. The Naval Center for Space Technology (NCST), located at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, D.C., is the designated lead laboratory for Navy space programs. NCST has the primary responsibility to develop space systems, spacecraft payloads, tactical communications and aerospace systems to actively pursue emerging technologies in an effort to advance space, tactical and aerospace system development. This contract will support the continual development and advancement of the software and hardware that provides state of the art solutions to space applications. Work is expected to be complete by June 2024. This contract includes options which will bring the cumulative value of this contract to $155,950,111, if exercised. Working capital funds in the amount of $2,060,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was a negotiated acquisition under the authority of Title 10 U.S. Code 2304(b)(2), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.203. This contract was competitively procured with one offer received via FedBizOpps. The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. 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This order was not competitively procured, in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1), with only one responsible source. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Oshkosh Defense LLC, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, has been awarded a maximum $12,994,546 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for transfer cases with containers. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a three-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Wisconsin, with a June 8, 2023, ordering period end date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal year 2020 through 2023 (Army) working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan (SPRDL1-20-D-0107). 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  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - July 02, 2020

    July 6, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - July 02, 2020

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SRC Inc., North Syracuse, New York, has been awarded a $7,458,946 follow-on task order for baseline support services under the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract FA7037-17-D-0001 for the sensor beam program. The contractor will research, analyze, technically document and perform reviews on electromagnetic systems, events and signatures required by all services and other U.S. agencies. Work will be performed at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, and is expected to be completed Aug. 1, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $7,314,490 are being obligated at the time of award. Acquisition Management and Integration Center-Detachment 2, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, is the contracting activity. 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