(NSI News Source Info) February 28, 2009: Finland and Belgium have become the latest countries to speak to the Pentagon about possible purchase of the multinational F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, said manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corp.
Three variants of the radar-evading F-35 are being developed with financing from the United States and eight other countries. Lockheed Martin calls it the world's most advanced multi-role fighter.
"Finland and Belgium have expressed interest to the JPO," said Chris Geisel, a Lockheed spokesman, referring to the Pentagon's F-35 Joint Program office. .jpg)
The F-35 is designed specifically to replace U.S. Air Force A-10s and F-16s, U.S. Navy F/A-18s, U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers and F/A-18s, and U.K. Harrier GR.7s and Sea Harriers.
Spain, looking eventually to replace its Harrier jump jets, has gone further, with a contractual study in place since late 2007, Geisel said. Greece and South Korea each received F-35 briefings from the U.S. government early this year, he added.
F-35 competitors include Saab's Gripen, the Dassault Rafale, Russia's MiG-35 and Sukhoi Su-35, and the Eurofighter Typhoon made by a consortium of British, German, Italian and Spanish companies.
Israel is the furthest along in a projected government-to-government F-35 deal. It appears likely to buy an initial 25 F-35s in 2012 for delivery in 2014, with an option for 50 more, Dan Crowley, Lockheed's F-35 program general manager, told a briefing Thursday during a U.S. Air Force Association symposium in Orlando, Florida.
Crowley said Singapore appears likely to get F-35s two years after Israel. Asked about other potential buyers through the Pentagon's Foreign Military Sales program, Crowley said Japan has expressed interest but is "farther out" on a decision as it weighs other options.
Lockheed says all 24 countries that fly its F-16 fighter are potential customers for the F-35, which is designed to replace at least 13 types of aircraft, including the F-16.
The eight countries that have joined the United States to co-develop the F-35 -- Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway -- appear to be largely sticking to their plans to buy some 730 F-35s of their own, Pentagon officials have said.
The United States currently plans to buy a total of 2,443 F-35 models -- including 1,763 for the U.S. Air Force and 680 for the Marine Corps and Navy together. It is the costliest U.S. arms acquisition program ever at a projected $299 billion over the next two decades.
"As we mature the F-35, we continue to see evidence of ever-strengthening customer support," including statements of intent to buy from Norway and the Netherlands, Crowley said.
"We will see more of the same in 2009," he said, "as our international partners begin ordering their first airplanes."
Lockheed's chief F-35 subcontractors are Northrop Grumman Corp and BAE Systems Plc. Two rival, interchangeable F-35 engines are under development. One is built by United Technologies Corp's Pratt & Whitney unit; the other by a team of General Electric Co and Rolls-Royce Group Plc.
Lockheed said it was on track to meet its F-35 cost projections.
It said the conventional take-off and landing model was projected to cost in the "upper" $60 million range per copy in adjusted 2014 dollars, when full production is due to kick in.
The short takeoff and landing version, to be used by the U.S. Marine Corps, is projected to cost in the mid-to-upper $80 million range, the company said, citing what it called Pentagon program office projections.
The projection for the variant designed to land on Navy aircraft carrier is in the low $90 million range in 2015 dollars, Geisel said.
"These costs represent aircraft early in the production cycle when aircraft costs are highest," he added. He said as production ramps up, cost per aircraft is projected to decrease.
The F-35 is designed specifically to replace U.S. Air Force A-10s and F-16s, U.S. Navy F/A-18s, U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers and F/A-18s, and U.K. Harrier GR.7s and Sea Harriers.
Spain, looking eventually to replace its Harrier jump jets, has gone further, with a contractual study in place since late 2007, Geisel said. Greece and South Korea each received F-35 briefings from the U.S. government early this year, he added.
F-35 competitors include Saab's Gripen, the Dassault Rafale, Russia's MiG-35 and Sukhoi Su-35, and the Eurofighter Typhoon made by a consortium of British, German, Italian and Spanish companies.
Israel is the furthest along in a projected government-to-government F-35 deal. It appears likely to buy an initial 25 F-35s in 2012 for delivery in 2014, with an option for 50 more, Dan Crowley, Lockheed's F-35 program general manager, told a briefing Thursday during a U.S. Air Force Association symposium in Orlando, Florida.
Crowley said Singapore appears likely to get F-35s two years after Israel. Asked about other potential buyers through the Pentagon's Foreign Military Sales program, Crowley said Japan has expressed interest but is "farther out" on a decision as it weighs other options.
Lockheed says all 24 countries that fly its F-16 fighter are potential customers for the F-35, which is designed to replace at least 13 types of aircraft, including the F-16.
The eight countries that have joined the United States to co-develop the F-35 -- Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway -- appear to be largely sticking to their plans to buy some 730 F-35s of their own, Pentagon officials have said.
The United States currently plans to buy a total of 2,443 F-35 models -- including 1,763 for the U.S. Air Force and 680 for the Marine Corps and Navy together. It is the costliest U.S. arms acquisition program ever at a projected $299 billion over the next two decades.
"As we mature the F-35, we continue to see evidence of ever-strengthening customer support," including statements of intent to buy from Norway and the Netherlands, Crowley said.
"We will see more of the same in 2009," he said, "as our international partners begin ordering their first airplanes."
Lockheed's chief F-35 subcontractors are Northrop Grumman Corp and BAE Systems Plc. Two rival, interchangeable F-35 engines are under development. One is built by United Technologies Corp's Pratt & Whitney unit; the other by a team of General Electric Co and Rolls-Royce Group Plc.
Lockheed said it was on track to meet its F-35 cost projections.
It said the conventional take-off and landing model was projected to cost in the "upper" $60 million range per copy in adjusted 2014 dollars, when full production is due to kick in.
The short takeoff and landing version, to be used by the U.S. Marine Corps, is projected to cost in the mid-to-upper $80 million range, the company said, citing what it called Pentagon program office projections.
The projection for the variant designed to land on Navy aircraft carrier is in the low $90 million range in 2015 dollars, Geisel said.
"These costs represent aircraft early in the production cycle when aircraft costs are highest," he added. He said as production ramps up, cost per aircraft is projected to decrease.
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The new program could be worth over $40 billion over the next decade. The Pentagon evaluated proposals and models submitted by six teams, and awarded development contracts to three of the teams. General Tactical Vehicles group, combining General Dynamics Land Systems and HMMWV maker AM General was awarded $45 million; the Navistar-BAE Systems team received $40.5 million and Lockheed Martin, also teamed with BAE Systems received $36 million contracts.
The later was a cost plus fixed fee contract while the first two are cost share awards. Three of the losing teams filed protests on the selection decision, causing the Army to issue 'Stop Work' order pending a decision by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Each of the teams selected will be asked to build four test vehicles during the first 15 months, to be followed by a test phase that could last another year. One or two winning teams will receive Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contracts by 2011, to begin production of vehicles, and accelerate production over the next 24 months.
According to Lt. Col. Ben Garza, JLTV Program Manager for the US Marine Corps, the test and evaluation phase will include testing of the vehicle's armor and ballistic hulls, the vehicle and trailers will undergo performance and reliability testing, including assessments from joint warfighters. Furthermore, the teams will have to demonstrate a 'family of vehicles' approach across the three payload categories and share a commonality of components, demonstrate technical maturity, requirements achievability and integration capabilities.
While the winners of the contracts will ultimately produce refined prototypes of the vehicles at the end of the current technology demonstration phase, the Army's current intention is to hold another full and open competition for the system development and demonstration (SDD) phase which will allow all interested parties to compete.
The Pentagon is also interested in extending international involvement in program. Australia has officially endorsed the program and is interested to commit by 2010, as the vehicle design is matured. Britain, Israel and Canada are also interested and were reported to be discussing possible co-development funding. 
On February 17, 2009 GAO denied protests filed in November last year by three teams that lost the initial selection process of the Army's Joint Light Tactical Vehicle - Textron-Boeing-SAIC, Northrop Grumman-Oshkosh and Force Protection. The GAO decision will enable Pentagon to launch the 15 month program designing and manufacturing 12 vehicles for subsequent testing, leading to a procurement decision in 2011. After the filing of the protest, the Army issued stop work orders to the winning companies, an action that could have delayed the program by few months.
