The U.S. government has cut its estimate of the long-term operating costs, Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter jets over 20%, according to one trillion U.S. dollars, according to senior defense officials, a move that can raise international support to the scheme.
The Pentagon has been under pressure over a year, revises its estimates of more than 2,000 F-35 fleet maintained over 55 years, with industry and military officials believe that many of the assumptions are outdated and off base.
The new $ 85.7 billion estimate can help ensure that new aircraft became billed as affordable and a few days ago, the South Korean decision, only a bid by Boeing's F-15 Silent Eagle came to a 740 billion dollar price is below the ceiling plans to buy 60 new fighter.
Lockheed F-35 and the Eurofighter "Typhoon" is still running, but Boeing's pricing, marking a step toward winning the contract, according to sources close to the process. The final decision is expected in mid-September.
It was not immediately clear lower F-35 is estimated to be the work of a South Korean tender what kind of impact, but U.S. officials said Seoul decided to re-launch a new tender competition and requirements.
The amendment reflects the Pentagon on aircraft performance data over 7000 hours of flight test and revise assumptions will be how to use and maintain, based on the officials said they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Estimated that the Senate Armed Services Committee, by the Pentagon's F-35 project leader, Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, the official said. The amendments have been tagged in June, the Pentagon acquisition chief, said he had expected the review, resulting in lower operating and maintenance costs.
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is an American history's most expensive weapons program. Pentagon estimates will cost $ 392 billions of dollars to develop and build the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps use 2,443 new aircraft.
Lockheed - Martin is developing three types of radar evading aircraft the United States and to help fund its development in eight countries: the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Norway, Turkey, Italy, Denmark and the Netherlands.
Revised estimate of Bloomberg News reports.
Cost
F-35B model, which can be like a helicopter landing flight hour cost is likely to be the Pentagon earlier forecast of 16.6%, lower than the deputy for aviation, Marine Corps commander, Lieutenant Robert Schmidle last Wednesday told Reuters in an interview Society.
Marine Corps plans to start using the mid-2015's F-35B military action.
à second senior defense official said that at present the Pentagon's Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) office estimated to exceed $ 41,000 per flight hour of the F-35B model costs, but the actual cost will likely be close to $ 37,000.
A detailed analysis by the Marines that it will cut annual operating costs by aircraft of nearly 600 million, or $ 12.3 billion over the next five decades, the official said.
Schmidle said Marines will fly the aircraft short takeoff and vertical landing or STOVL mode, only 10% of the time, far less than 80% tax rate, taking into account the initial estimates. Assuming the initial estimate staffing levels were also higher than in practice, he said.
"Marines have been very active in trying to find ways to reduce operating costs and support costs, especially with the cost per flight hour, out of" Schmidle said. "I want to challenge every assumption."
He said he is confident that Pratt & Whitney, United Technologies Corporation at a lower unit cost, and other military aircraft programs seen on the trend line operation of aircraft engines in the coming years through the efforts, you can achieve additional savings.
He said the Marines are also expected to cut maintenance costs up to 90% of the work done in the house, rather than farming contractor. Efforts resulted in significant savings in the V-22, the Marine Corps tiltrotor aircraft, he said.
Schmidle says Marines analysis and forecast of 520 million yuan, a year instead of the other three planes now use F-35, is now expected to be completed by 2030, a process running in lower maintenance and saves time.
He said that mandatory Pentagon budget cuts on the impact of F-35 program remains unclear, but he said the savings is expected to replace the existing AV8B Harrier, EA-6B "Prowler" electronic warfare aircraft and F/A-18 fighter and F-35 fighter can make to speed up the process in the case.



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