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Lockheed Martin suggested the long-term sales prospects for its F-35 jet are uncertain amid worries the Department of Defense may begin to pivot away from the program. In the short term, new production of the F-35 will go down in 2023.
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Much of the U.S. military’s focus is shifting towards strategic deterrence, Taiclet claimed—that means more of the defense budget will be spent on new Air Force programs such as the B-21 stealth bomber and the LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile that will replace the Minuteman III.
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The company put its short-term decreased F-35 production down to supply-chain issues and the need to fill outstanding orders.

“There will be a period of catch-up,” Chief Financial Officer Jay Malave said of the F-35. “Production will be down next year.” Malave said the company expected supply chain issues and other “headwinds” facing the program will “normalize heading into 2024.”

The company expects a Lot 16 F-35 order worth more than $8 billion to be completed by the end of 2022. In August, the Pentagon awarded a $7.6 billion Lot 15 contract to Lockheed Martin for up to 129 aircraft with 49 F-35As bound for the Air Force.

In the future, Lockheed Martin sees strong demand for the F-35 abroad but some tepidness for the plane at home. In light of Russia’s aggression, European militaries have bolstered their defense spending, including F-35s. In September, the Swiss government signed a contract for 36 F-35As—Denmark, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and the U.K all already operate the fighter, and Belgium, Finland, Germany, and Poland have all officially selected it. Greece and the Czech Republic are also seeking to buy.

The DOD, however, has been less keen on new aircraft purchases. The Air Force requested just 33 F-35As in its 2023 budget, which has yet to be passed by Congress.

Lockheed has set a long-term objective to produce 156 F-35s a year.

“It takes about 80 U.S. aircraft to make that happen per year with another 75 or so coming from international,” Taiclet said. “We see the international demand. It’s going to be up to the U.S. government to try to support that number.”

Some U.S. uncertainty stems from outstanding issues regarding what capabilities future F-35s will have, not just budget concerns.

The services are awaiting Lockheed Martin’s long-planned Block 4 and Technical Refresh 3 improvements to the jet and DOD’s own decision on the powerplant for Block 4 fighters. If a newly-designed, more expensive option from the Adaptive Engine Transition Program is chosen, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has suggested the service will be forced to buy fewer F-35As.

Lockheed’s executives acknowledged that America’s yearly F-35 buys would result from not just the DOD’s future budget priorities but what Congress ultimately decides to put into law. In the case of the Pentagon’s fiscal 2023 budget, that hasn’t happened yet.

“The defense budget is expected to go above and beyond what the President’s original submission was,” Taiclet said, adding the final bill “probably would benefit” the F-35.

For now, Lockheed Martin’s goal of 156 F-35s per year still stands.
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It was preceded by crashes of two USAF F-35As, two Marine Corps F-35Bs, one U.S. Navy F-35C, one Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-35A, and one Royal Air Force F-35B.

warbird2000 a écrit : ↑

ven. oct. 21, 2022 4:16 pm

A titre de comparaison sur 143 typhoons livrés trois ont été perdus et les avions allemands n opèrent pas sur porte-avions

jojo a écrit : ↑

sam. oct. 22, 2022 6:41 pm

https://youtube.com/shorts/0pFNNpN1c98?feature=share

Vidange carburant.

jojo a écrit : ↑

dim. oct. 23, 2022 5:25 pm

Soit on trouve d'autres partenaires, soit on va le faire tout seul SCAF

ironclaude a écrit : ↑

dim. oct. 23, 2022 5:46 pm

Les russes sont les meilleurs agents commerciaux du matériel Américain

warbird2000 a écrit : ↑

jeu. oct. 27, 2022 10:03 am

2) Certain élus us craignent une nouvelle envolées des couts avec ce moteur
3) Le moteur AETP semble bien tenir ses promesses mais le dernier hic reste bien l'argent

“And so we’re still in the experimentation phase. We wanted to at least try to find out how would you integrate an assault carrier with a full-sized carrier. What missions might it be able to do?” Thomas added.