As always, the Lockheed Martin F-35 has yet another high-value contract signed, this time the United States Navy signed a contract worth 1 billion dollars to provide logistics and maintenance services for the F-35 aircraft of the US Navy.
This contract also includes ground aircraft maintenance (checks) and training for pilots and mechanics from the US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. The value of this contract is small compared to that estimated by the F-35 t Program Office, in total sustaining all F-35 aircraft during their lifespan could cost up to $891 billion, which is why it is often referred to as the trillion dollar aircraft.
Recently, Lockheed Martin promised to reduce acquisition costs for F-35 aircraft, after a meeting with US President Donald Trump. The fighter manufacturer had already said that it would reduce the cost of the F-35A to an average of US$ 80/85 million per unit in up to two years, that is, in 2019. Previously, the value was US$ 102 million, including the engine of the F35.
The total cost of developing the F-35 fighter was divided among several partner countries, the United States would be responsible for spending US$ 395 billion to design and buy 2457 combat aircraft, 200 billion more than the initially estimated value. Lockheed Martin even threatened to overstate the $1,1 trillion cost to develop and build the F-35 units, the aircraft soon becoming famous for being the most expensive project in recent American military industry.
The F-35 is a fifth-generation fighter that stands out for its project versatility, currently it has three versions available for delivery. The first (F-35A) is in common use for air combat, the second version (F-35B) has the ability to land vertically from an airflow guidance system, a third version (F-35C) is capable of being used on an aircraft carrier and s the acceleration and braking rail.
Via - Flightglobal
