The price of the F-35 strike fighter compares well with that of a modern F-16 or F/A-18 loaded for bear, Steve O’Bryan, Lockheed Martin’s vice president for F-35 business development, tells the Daily Report. “A fully operational,” latest model F-16E or F/A-18E is “the same cost” as an F-35 at maturity, coming in at roughly $65 million in 2010 dollars, claimed O’Bryan Tuesday. He said one of the difficulties of comparing costs between the fifth generation F-35 and the fourth generation F-16s and F/A-18s is that many systems on the latter—such as targeting pods, electronic warfare pods, conformal fuel tanks and AESA radar—are sold separately. On the F-35, they are internal, standard equipment, he said. But after spending a similar amount of money on an F-16 or F/A-18, “it’s still a fourth generation aircraft”, said O’Bryan, meaning still less capable than the F-35. He also said Lockheed’s F-35 cost numbers track very closely with those of the US government. “It’s less than a five-percent difference” between the Pentagon’s cost numbers and the company’s own figures, he asserted.
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
