2 septembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial

F-35 program costs are evolving, and these savings matter

By:

Last month, Congress held an oversight and accountability hearing regarding the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's burdensome logistical IT system. The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General reported earlier this year that millions of additional dollars were spent in the form of labor hours by military personnel who manually tracked the plane's spare parts since its electronic logistical system didn't. The congressional review was undoubtedly warranted, especially as the F-35 program office phases in a newer system over the next two years to replace its legacy IT platform.

But noticeably absent from this testimony, was a more fulsome discussion (and understanding) about the affordability of the program and how both acquisition costs and the price to fly the aircraft are significantly trending downward at a time that matters most.

In an era of increased military competition against peer adversaries and during a period of tremendous budgetary constraints in the United States, incremental savings across a large enterprise such as the F-35 program matter. The Defense Department understands this well. It has smartly leveraged its buying power, driving down the cost of each F-35A to approximately $80 million one year earlier than planned — now costing taxpayers less than some of the less capable fourth-generation aircraft, and on a par with others. The F-15EX, for example, costs nearly $88 million, and gives our forces no help in a fifth-gen fight.

Why spend more for less? This is critical because over the next five years, the number of F-35s purchased will more than double to approximately 1,200 aircraft. That translates to increased capacity and capability for the United States and its allies as they operate in the Indo-Pacific and European theaters.

Congress recognizes that the costs to acquire the aircraft have been significantly reduced, and it has now rightfully turned its attention to the costs associated with sustaining the aircraft. But most lawmakers missed the opportunity during July's hearing to more fully explore a key statement made by the F-35′s prime contractor, Lockheed Martin.

Lockheed announced that it has reduced its share of the aircraft's sustainability cost per flying hour over the past five years by nearly 40 percent, plummeting the costs to fly the aircraft to nearly $5,000 less each hour than earlier hourly costs.

The company says it has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to build state-of-the-art tools, analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence, which has led to labor efficiency gains as well as improvements to supply response times and data quality. The company implemented robust asset management tools and robotic automation to eliminate manual tasks, while placing a concerted focus on improving the reliability of aircraft parts to meaningfully reduce future repair requirements and material costs.

This is significant because the number of hours flown each year will increase by approximately 140,000 hours over the next five years alone. Those savings add up.

And more can be done. The F-35′s manufacturer believes it can further drive down its cost share to fly the aircraft by approximately an additional 50 percent. This is all the more significant when considering that the military services and aircraft's engine maker, Pratt & Whitney, are responsible for more than one-half of the total sustainment costs of the program.

If a similar level of savings can be achieved by the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Pratt & Whitney, those savings can be confidently reinvested back into the program to ensure enough aircraft are being procured to deter and, if necessary, fight our adversaries. As the military services and foreign countries consider future threats and the capabilities needed to impede adventuresome opponents, these savings matter.

These savings come at the same time the DoD reports that the aircraft's mission-capable rate has increased from the mid-50th percentile to the low 70th percentile from just a couple of years ago. And further improvements in the aircraft's mission-capable rate should be forthcoming as repair backlogs and mismatched spare parts are corrected by a new IT logistical system.

A theoretical military principle suggests that steady quantitative changes can lead to a sudden, qualitative leap. After many, many years of sustained focus to drive down F-35 costs, the program may be representative of that maxim and allow the Defense Department to fully realize the advantages of the F-35′s gamechanging technologies.

Steven P. Bucci is a visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation. He previously served as a U.S. Army Special Forces officer and is a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense. The Heritage Foundation takes no funding from any government. It does take donations from corporate entities, which average about 4 percent of their total funding in any given year. The think tank reports it does not take a position based on donations, nor do donors have editorial input..

https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/09/01/f-35-program-costs-are-evolving-and-these-savings-matter/

Sur le même sujet

  • Elbit Systems Awarded a $72 Million Contract to Supply Hermes 900 Unmanned Aircraft Systems to an International Customer

    14 novembre 2022 | International, Aérospatial

    Elbit Systems Awarded a $72 Million Contract to Supply Hermes 900 Unmanned Aircraft Systems to an International Customer

    The Hermes 900 UAS has been selected to-date by more than 15 customers attesting to its competitive edge combining technological sophistication, reliability, open architecture and a solid growth path

  • SCAF : le Sénat apporte ses propositions pour le renforcer

    17 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial

    SCAF : le Sénat apporte ses propositions pour le renforcer

    Au Sénat, la commission des Affaires étrangères, de la défense et des forces armées présidée par le sénateur (LR) Christian Cambon, a présenté le 15 juillet un rapport d'information sur « le système de combat aérien du futur » (SCAF). Présenté par ses rapporteurs Ronan Le Gleut (LR) et Hélène Conway-Mouret (PS), ce rapport propose plusieurs recommandations afin de faire en sorte que ce programme de défense soit « irréversible ». Pour cela, les auteurs préconisent la signature début 2021 « d'un contrat-cadre global » qui courrait jusqu'en 2025-2026, couvrant la première phase du projet qui doit aboutir à un démonstrateur d'avion. Ce qui éviterait la succession de contrats demandant à chaque fois une validation politique. Les sénateurs estiment par ailleurs que la France, l'Allemagne et l'Espagne doivent élargir leur projet et faire entrer de nouveaux partenaires européens. Notamment pour faire face au programme concurrent « Tempest », mené par les Britanniques. Toutefois les sénateurs préconisent d'attendre 2026, avec le lancement du démonstrateur. Public Sénat du 15 juillet 2020

  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - August 19, 2019

    20 août 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - August 19, 2019

    ARMY Norfolk Dredging Co., Chesapeake, Virginia, was awarded a $133,162,809 firm-fixed-price contract for Savannah inner harbor dredging. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed in Savannah, Georgia, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 6, 2021. Fiscal 2019 civil construction; operations and maintenance civil; and river and harbor contributed funds in the amount of $133,162,809 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah, Georgia, is the contracting activity (W912HN-19-C-5004). Norfolk Dredging Co., Chesapeake, Virginia, was awarded a $124,460,600 firm-fixed-price contract for Charleston harbor dredging. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Charleston, South Carolina, with an estimated completion date of July 5, 2022. Fiscal 2019 civil construction funds in the amount of $124,460,600 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston, South Carolina, is the contracting activity (W912HP-19-C-0003). WHH Nisqually-Garco JV 2,* Olympia, Washington, was awarded a $22,252,000 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a hot refueling system at Gray Army Airfield at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 22, 2021. Fiscal 2019 military construction funds in the amount of $22,252,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle, Washington, is the contracting activity (W912DW-19-C-0017). L3 Technologies Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah, was awarded a $7,868,630 firm-fixed-price contract for the production of Dual Output Battery Eliminator retrofits and Ku Band Directional Antennas On the Move upgrades. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Salt Lake City, Utah, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement, Army funds in the amount of $7,868,630 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-19-F-0636). AIR FORCE Radiance Technologies Inc., Huntsville, Alabama,* has been awarded a $99,997,251 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for distributed, automated and intelligent hardware and software security. The scope of this effort is the design, development, integration and delivery of an adaptable set of models and tools, which can be used to provide next-generation detailed, comprehensive and automated cyber vulnerability assessment capabilities, which can also be tailored towards multiple application spaces and Department of Defense missions. This set of models and tools will provide optimized system configurations and countermeasure placement in order to perform vulnerability assessments on complex, distributed systems, which include Internet of Things components in an automated fashion. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama, and is expected to be completed by Aug. 19, 2024. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and two offers were received. The Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, New York, is the contracting activity (FA8750-19-C-1508). Flatter Inc., Fredericksburg, Virginia, and Washington, District of Columbia, has been awarded a $39,559,613 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the Air Force Senior Leadership Development Program (AFSLDP). This contract provides for the full range of technical, functional and managerial expertise to further support the continual development, enhancement, sustainment and facilitation of the AFSLDP by providing analysis, subject matter expertise, guidance and support to the Force Development and Senior Leadership trainings as well as systems. Work will be performed in the National Capital Region and the estimated completion date is Aug. 16, 2024. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and six offers were received. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $136,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The contracting directorate is Air Force, District of Washington, Acquisitions, and the contracting activity is Joint Base Andrews, Maryland (FA701419DA003). BAE Systems, Nashua, New Hampshire, has been awarded a $19,197,676 cost-plus-fixed-fee for sustainment services associated with the AN/ALQ-239 Digital Electronics Warfare Systems (DEWS) and AN/AAR-57A(V) Common Missile Warning System (CMWS) hardware/software. This contract provides for the repair and return indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity in support of DEWS/CMWS line replaceable units and line replaceable modules for the Foreign Military Sales customer. Work will be performed at Nashua, New Hampshire, and is expected to be completed by Aug. 13, 2022. This contract involves foreign military sales to the Royal Saudi Air Force. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $9,054,261 are being obligated at the time of the award via order FA8523-19-F-0056. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8523-19-D-0001). CORRECTION: The Aug. 8, 2019, announcement that BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services Inc., Rockville, Maryland, was awarded a $369,000,000 ceiling increase modification (P00013) to contract FA2521-16-D-0010 for serviceable components and subsystems for instrumentation tracking systems is incorrect. The correct award amount was $90,500,000. All other information in the announcement is correct. NAVY Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded $32,111,547 for modification P00005 to delivery order N00019-19-F-2512 under previously issued against basic ordering agreement (N00019-14-G-0020). This award procures modification kits and special tooling for modification and retrofit of delivered F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-Department of Defense (DoD) participants and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in June 2025. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy); non-DoD partners; and FMS funds in the amount of $32,111,547 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Air Force ($16,510,522; 51%); Marine Corps ($7,693,130; 24%); Navy ($275,849; 1%); non-DoD participants ($4,698,676; 15%); and FMS customers ($2,933,370; 9%). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Detyens Shipyards Inc., North Charleston, South Carolina, is awarded a $21,316,067 firm-fixed-price contract for a 75-calendar day shipyard availability for the regular overhaul and dry-docking of USNS Sacagawea (T-AKE 2). The contract includes options, which, if exercised, would bring the total contract value to $21,942,075. Work will be performed in North Charleston, South Carolina, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 20, 2019. Working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $21,942,075 will be obligated in fiscal 2020. This contract was competitively procured with proposals solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with two offers received. The Navy's Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N32205-19-C-6006). Reyes Construction Inc., Pomona, California, is awarded $20,368,000 for firm-fixed-price task order N62473-19-F-4995 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62473-18-D-5862) for the design-bid-build construction of missile magazines at Naval Weapons Station, Seal Beach. The work to be performed provides for new magazines that are needed to provide adequate storage for vertical launch missile systems, missile variants and for assembled missile storage. The contractor shall provide all labor, supervision, materials and equipment to perform all work described in the request for proposal. The task order also contains five unexercised options, which, if exercised, would increase the cumulative task order value to $20,479,300. Work will be performed in Seal Beach, California, and is expected to be completed by April 2021. Fiscal 2019 military construction (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $20,368,000 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One proposal was received for this task order. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. The Lockheed Martin Corp., Rotary and Mission Systems, Mitchel Field, New York, is awarded $13,350,351 for cost-plus-incentive-fee modification P00008 for new scope under previously awarded contract N-00030-19-C-0045 to provide U.S. Trident II (D5) Strategic Weapon System efforts for the navigation subsystem. Work will be performed in Mitchel Field, New York, with an expected completion date of Dec. 31, 2022. Fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $13,350,351 are being obligated on this award. Funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was a sole-source acquisition pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded $12,031,145 for modification P00001 to delivery order 5503 under previously issued against basic ordering agreement (N00019-14-G-0020). This award procures modification kits for modification and retrofit of delivered F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters for the Air Force and Marine Corps. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in December 2021. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Air Force and Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $12,031,145 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Air Force ($6,927,023; 58%); and the Marine Corps ($5,104,122; 42%). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Unified Business Technologies Inc.,* Troy, Michigan, is awarded $7,379,877 for firm-fixed-price task order N40085-19-F-3500 under a previously awarded SeaPort Next Generation contract for engineering and program management for capital improvement requirements with various design and construction periods at Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, North Carolina; and Marine Base Camp Lejeune, Jacksonville, North Carolina. The work to be performed provides for various construction engineering disciplines and administrative support services to assist in completing various capital improvement projects. The task order also contains four unexercised options, which, if exercised, would increase cumulative task order value to $37,651,276. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, North Carolina (67%); and Havelock, North Carolina (33%), and is expected to be completed by August 2024. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $7,379,877 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Three proposals were received for this task order. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00178-19-D-8762). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Bremen-Bowdon Investments Co., Bowdon, Georgia, has been awarded a maximum $7,966,345 modification (P00008) exercising the second one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-17-D-1085) with four one-year option periods for men's blue trousers. This is a firm-fixed-price contract. Location of performance is Georgia, with an Aug. 23, 2020, performance completion date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/1938044/source/GovDelivery/

Toutes les nouvelles