Finally good news for the fifth generation F-35 super fighter program, reports it in a Defense News article. The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin have reached an agreement for the eleventh batch of F-35s. Defense Minister Elisabetta Trenta recently said she did not want to buy more and to extend delivery times to save on the funds allocated annually on the defense budget and then direct them to other objectives considered to be priority. Lot no. 11, the largest of the program, will allow considerable savings on the unit costs of the aircraft, allowing the Italian Defense to achieve the desired annual savings without necessarily having to extend delivery times. Let's not forget that the Air Force is about to retire about 240 aircraft (Tornado and AMX) and without a replacement within an acceptable time frame it would risk no longer flying as required, invalidating one of the institutional tasks, namely the defense of national airspace. But let's go back to the good news, or the new perspectives that lot 11 will bring.
The lot 11 order is the largest in the F-35 program, involving 141 jets for the United States and other international customers. The US Department of Defense and Lockheed did not disclose both the total contract value and the unit costs of the latest order, but a Lockheed spokesperson said the company can now reduce the unit cost of the conventional take-off and landing model. F-35A - the widest variant used - at $ 80 million by 2020.
In a statement, Lockheed's spokesperson said the total contract value and price per aircraft would be announced as soon as the contract was concluded, but the "unit price for all three F-35 variants dropped significantly in the last negotiation. , showing that the program is in continuous progress, maturity and that it can begin to reduce costs “.
The contract for the tenth batch of F-35s from initial low-rate production (LRIP), as announced in February 2017, lowered the price of an F-35A to $ 94,6 million - the first time any version of the fighter it had been sold for less than $ 100 million. The jump-jet F-35B model used by the U.S. Marine Corps fetched $ 122,8 million, while the F-35C carrier version was $ 121,8 million.
The deal for lot 11 could represent a change of course in the relationship between DoD USA and Lockheed, which had tightened considerably during the LRIP 9 and 10 negotiations.
After months of negotiations for LRIP 9, the JPO in 2016 forced Lockheed Martin to comply with a unilateral contractual action, which allowed the Pentagon to fix the price of a plane and the Lockheed tax without company intervention.
Then, the costs of the F-35 were put on trial by President Donald Trump, who publicly criticized the program and positioned Boeing's Super Hornet as an alternative. The pressure helped the Pentagon and Lockheed conclude a deal on LRIP 10 in February 2017, with unit costs reduced by about 7,5% compared to the ninth batch of jets.
The announcement of lot # 11 follows a $ 2 billion contract made to Pratt & Whitney in May for the eleventh series of F-35 engines. Pratt produces the F135 engine used in each version.
Going forward, Lockheed and the Pentagon will negotiate the 12, 13 and 14 lots together as part of a block purchase that will initially include international orders but could also host US services already in the 13 lot.
The Lockheed spokesperson said the LRIP 11 deal "coupled with the technical stability of the aircraft, puts us on a very good path to trade lots 12, 13 and 14 as Block Buy, which will generate additional savings for our customers" .