By
Theresa Hitchens on April 26, 2021 at 5:08 PM
An Air Force maintainer plugs into the F-35 to perform pre-flight checks.
WASHINGTON: DoD is considering how the services might take over more of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s maintenance chores from Lockheed Martin in order to reduce costs.
The study of future sustainment options
is one of a number of efforts by DoD’s F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO), prime contractor Lockheed Martin and engine-maker Pratt & Whitney to get a handle of the program’s myriad issues. These range the jet’s sky high operating costs, to chronic spare parts shortages, to its deeply-troubled ALIS maintenance software, to a potential shortfall of F135 engines, to Block 4 software delays.
Congress May Put the Kibosh on Buying Extra F-35 Fighter Jets
The active-duty 388th and Reserve 419th Fighter Wings conducted an F-35A Combat Power Exercise at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Jan. 6, 2020. (U.S. Air Force photo/R. Nial Bradshaw)
26 Apr 2021
For years, Congress has given the military services the option to buy extra F-35 Joint Strike Fighter stealth jets that were not in the original budget request. But some lawmakers say that practice may be coming to an end.
In a joint hearing April 22, members of the House Armed Services tactical air and land forces and readiness subcommittees cited long-term affordability concerns for the Defense Department s most expensive fighter jet program; they said that additional funding is unlikely for a program plagued with operational issues and cost overruns.
土耳其被 踢出 F-35计划,导致配套发动机价格上涨|f-35|f-35战斗机 163.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from 163.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Turkey’s removal from F-35 program to cause hike in engine price 1 hour ago
A Pratt & Whitney F135 engine, used to power the F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft, undergoes testing at Arnold Air Force Base in Tullahoma, Tenn. (PRNewsfoto/Pratt & Whitney) WASHINGTON The cost of the F-35′s engine is set to increase by 3 percent due to Turkey’s removal from the program in 2019, the head of Pratt & Whitney’s military engines division said Thursday. The company’s F135 engine which is used in all three variants of the Lockheed Martin F-35 joint strike fighter was initially manufactured with a total of 188 parts produced by Turkish suppliers, Matthew Bromberg told lawmakers during a House Armed Services Committee hearing.
Search for:
Home » Aviation » HASC: Congress Let DoD Buy Too Many F-35 Fighters But Not Enough F-35 Spares, Sustainment
HASC: Congress Let DoD Buy Too Many F-35 Fighters But Not Enough F-35 Spares, Sustainment
April 22, 2021 5:59 PM
Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 2nd Class Cosme Zamora, from Compton, Calif., assigned to the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6), signals an F-35B Lightning II fighter aircraft assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) on the ship’s flight deck on Jan. 21, 2021. US Navy Photo
The House Armed Services Committee has little appetite for buying any F-35 Joint Strike Fighter planes beyond the official Biden administration request – in contrast to the past seven years, when Congress has added a whopping 97 planes beyond the president’s budget request – as a result of low readiness rates and ongoing maintenance and supply challenges.