The F-35 Is Behind Schedule and Faces Cost OverrunsNovember 19, 2009
 The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program is well behind schedule and over budget, according to an article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Although the program completed a milestone test flight recently, the testing process is lagging and reports say that Lockheed could drain its development budget within a year. The Star-Telegram invoked the Freedom of Information Act to obtain documents prepared by the Defense Contract Management Agency for the Defense Department. The documents show that Lockheed and other contractors are months late on delivering test planes and even components for future models. The report backs a recent Pentagon assessment that developing the F-35 will require at least two more years and billions of additional funds. On the heels of this, the Defense Contract Management Agency reports that Ashton Carter, the Pentagon's top weapons buyer, called a meeting to discuss the report's conclusions and prepare recommendations. Dan Crowley, an executive vice president and F-35 general manager for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth, Texas, said the report is mostly accurate but the project is now making good progress. "We're not drawing farther from the schedule," he said. "We're going to meet the schedule beginning in 2011." Monthly reports prepared for the Pentagon F-35 managers, however, show that Lockheed and its subcontractors are lagging even the most recent May 2008 revised schedule. The Star-Telegram highlights the following: Test aircraft production is running six months behind schedule. Of the 13 planes that were to be delivered in early October for testing, only seven were delivered and only four have been flown. Lockheed has had trouble assembling the wing and major components. Even suppliers are late delivering finished parts and components, not simply because of manufacturing problems, but also because they face many design and engineering revisions. (Courtesy photo (RELEASED)) |
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