American general scolded F-35 fighter manufacturers: trying to squeeze everything from the government out of cent
Lieutenant General Christopher Bogdan, who oversees the development and operation of the latest F-35 fighters at the Pentagon, lashed out at their manufacturers - Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney. He accused them of trying to "squeeze every cent" out of the US government and failing to see the long-term benefits of the project, Reuters reports.
"Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney are acting like they are getting ready to sell me the very latest F-35 and the very latest engine," Bogdan said at the International Air Show in Australia. A senior military man arrived there to persuade local authorities not to abandon the purchase of 100 F-35 fighters, in which design problems were found twice this year, due to which their flights were suspended.
To get profit in the future, manufacturers must now take on some of the risk and invest in a project to reduce costs, Bogdan said.
In turn, in the companies, his harsh remarks caused outrage. Lockheed Martin said it was "unusually focused" on executing contracts for the development, production and maintenance of a new combat aircraft. "We (...) daily strive to reduce costs (for production)," said company spokesman Michael Rein.
He said that after the first aircraft, the company had reduced production costs by 50%. In addition, negotiations are underway to further strengthen the savings.
Pratt & Whitney issued a dramatic announcement, saying it had invested heavily to cut the cost of producing engines for its new aircraft and took more risk than usual.
“Despite numerous reductions in the F-35 acquisition, Pratt & Whitney maintains a long-term vision and demonstrates our commitment to the decision to invest over $ 50 million of our own funds and take risks ahead of the contractual schedule to prevent potential delays in implementation. programs, "said company spokesman Matthew Bates in a statement.
The F-35 is a multipurpose fighter designed with low-visibility technology and capable of carrying nuclear warheads. In December last year, the US Department of Defense signed a contract with Lockheed Martin to purchase another batch of these aircraft, totaling about $ 3,8 billion. The United States planned to spend about 35 trillion dollars in the coming 50 years to develop, purchase and operate F-1,5. But at this stage, the Pentagon is trying to convince Congress to cancel the reduction in the military budget, which will force to postpone the purchase of three of the approximately thirty F-35 aircraft that are planned to be ordered this year.
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