Recent reports state that Lockheed Martin are willing to put a fixed price limit on the F35. Indications are that it will be about US$60 million or so BUT we need to note the caveats:
This is for Low Rate Initial Production 4 (LRIP 4) aircraft,not an aircraft that matches the final production specification It’s based on the assumption that a very large number of aircraft will be produced (more than anyone’s currently talking about ordering) The US$60 million is for the Conventional Take Off &Landing (CTOL) version of the F35,as opposed to the carrier based version or the Short Take Off,Vertical Landing (STOVL) version that’s to replace the Harrier. This isn’t such a big deal for Australia though as we’re going for the CTOL F35A and officially not looking at the other variants.
The mainstream media are reporting on LM’s fixed price offer and some are even pointing out a few of the caveats listed above (especially the more aviation focused groups). The big issue I’ve not seen being discussed though relates to capability. Some are touching on it,but we need to have this asked in the headlines of the mainstream media and have real answers provided:
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Read More:F35 for $60 million each (batteries not included:)
