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DSEI NEWS: Lockheed Martin in talks with potential European F-35 customers
British F-35B
UK Ministry of Defense
LONDON – F-35 builder Lockheed Martin is in preliminary talks with several potential new customers for the Joint Strike Fighter, a senior company official said on Sept. 15 during a briefing on the aircraft at the DSEI show.
“We have a great interest here in Europe, [and] not just the current competition with Finland. … We’re interested in three or four other countries talking to us right now, ”Gary North, vice president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, said in a meeting with reporters.
When National Defense Urged him to get a more exact number after the briefing, North said he couldn’t provide any details other than that they were “several” countries and that they were in Europe.
His comments came as Lockheed had good news to share about the oft-criticized program.
New statistics have revealed that the cost of piloting the aircraft will decrease over the next five years. Critics frequently point to the F-35’s high cost per flight hour and its lack of availability.
The total hourly cost of the U.S. fleet to fly the aircraft has fallen 44% over the past five calendar years and the company is committed to reducing it by 30% over a three-year contract running from l ‘fiscal year 2021 to 2023, North said.
A sustainment contract issued by the F-35 Joint Program Office on September 14 indicates that the company has committed to reducing the cost to $ 30,000 per flight hour by the end of the contract in 2023.
A slide North showed at the briefing said those costs would drop by 40% in total over the next five years.
Thirty-nine percent of the operating and sustainment savings in fiscal years 2020 to 2025 would be achieved by Lockheed Martin, 47% by the three US services that fly the F-35 – the Air Force, Navy and the Marine Corps – and 14% by engine builder Pratt & Whitney, according to JPO North statistics displayed on a graph.
“We believe that over the next five years these contracts will go from multi-year contracts to hopefully longer [performance-based logistics] contracts we will be able to cut costs, ”North said.
“We are all, across the company, absolutely committed to reducing costs and increasing availability throughout the lifecycle of the program,” said North. He attributed the recent reductions to the maturity of the aircraft, advanced technologies and the speed of the supply chain.
Meanwhile, the UK’s Royal Air Force currently has 21 F-35s and three more are expected by October for a record 138 aircraft program.
North was asked about deep skepticism among the UK aviation press that the number 138 would hold.
“The recording program is the recording program,” North said. “We are well aware of the challenges and discussions about sustainability and maintainability – of all governments. We work very hard to ensure that all governments and all of our customers understand our commitment to maintain the registration program. “
The subjects: International
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