Trump's F-35 Calls Came With a Surprise: Rival CEO Was Listening
by Anthony Capaccio
Boeing CEO said to be in room as Trump phoned program chief
Lockheed has faced Trump attacks over cost of F-35 contract
Trump’s questions capabilities of Boeing’s Super Hornet fighter and how it might compete against Lockheed’s F-35C
Trump’s calls to a uniformed program manager to discuss a contract that was completed 16 years ago were unprecedented and potentially disruptive
December tweet: “Based on the tremendous cost and cost overruns of the Lockheed Martin F-35, I have asked Boeing to price-out a comparable F-18 Super Hornet!”
In an effort to drive the fighter’s costs down, the F-35 has been marketed to allies around the world, with production and maintenance contracts spread from the U.K. to Australia.
The U.S. Air Force, which plans to buy 1,763 of the F-35A model jets, would not fly Boeing’s minimally stealthy “fourth-generation” Super Hornet, which is designed for aircraft carrier operations.
As a so-called fifth-generation fighter, the F-35 is stealthier and is equipped with more advanced radar, sensors and communications systems.
The Navy version of the F-35 is easier to target because it’s not scheduled to be operational until August 2018 at the earliest.
The service plans to buy only 260 carrier models of the plane; the Marine Corps will buy 80 of the Navy model and 340 of a version capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings.
Lockheed has delivered 26 of the Navy jets to date, with four more on order
Under current plans, the Pentagon is scheduled to increase overall purchases of the F-35 in the coming fiscal year to 70 from 63 this year. Purchases would grow to 80 aircraft in fiscal 2019, and there’s a pending “block buy” of 450 aircraft after that.
Source: Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/arti ... -listening