The Next $1 Trillion Market: F-35 Sustainment Work

[unhappycamper]

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20121104/DEFREG02/311040001/The-Next-1-Trillion-Market-F-35-Sustainment-Work



Support work for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is projected to be worth more than $1 trillion over the next 50 years.


The Next $1 Trillion Market: F-35 Sustainment Work
Nov. 4, 2012 - 01:31PM |
By AARON MEHTA and MARCUS WEISGERBER

~snip~

That shift will be on full display starting Nov. 14, when more than 100 defense firms will descend on Washington for an industry day focusing on sustainment of the multinational F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. Sustainment of the aircraft is projected to cost more than $1 trillion over the next 50 years, and the companies will be scoping how to snap up their piece of the JSF sustainment pie.

[leveymg]

1. That's four times the initial projected acquisition cost in 2001!

Last edited Wed Nov 7, 2012, 12:00 PM - Edit history (1)

Set in 2001, the total acquisition cost of the F-35 was to be $233.0 billion. Compare that to the current estimate of $395.7 billion: http://nation.time.com/2012/07/09/f-35-nearly-doubles-in-cost-but-you-dont-know-thanks-to-its-rubber-baseline/

[HereSince1628]

2. Stupid investment,

We can't defend against our real enemies who live in investment banks or their clients who rather than investing in military to overtake us, are free to cherry-pick the assets they want to take away from us.

[leveymg]

3. We don't (and hence can't) even build the things here, anymore.

What is the purpose of building and maintaining this type of aircraft, if it's admittedly not superior to competitors?

[HereSince1628]

4. Why spend for an international power status that is behind us

a power that if we try to keep it, will bankrupt us as surely as it did the Soviets?

The stupidity of trying to be #1 militarily when you are somewhere between #3 and #5 economically will ruin us.

[leveymg]

5. The Praetorian Guard role only pays if the clients continue to overpay for arms. Not any longer.

Twenty years ago, the Saudis were willing to shell out a lot of cash to pay the direct costs of US interventions in their region. They don't do that any longer, and the subsequent occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan broke the US Treasury.

The Chinese only underwrite our excesses because they know that in the long run (shorter than that, actually), we'll exhaust ourselves.

This game is unsustainable, and America needs to find another line of work. What kind of work? Just look at Germany.