Pentagon says F-35 fighter program's cost still exceeding estimates [View All]

[unhappycamper]

Pentagon says F-35 fighter program's cost still exceeding estimates
By Bob Cox | The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Posted on Wednesday, June 2, 2010

The total cost of the F-35 joint strike fighter program will be far higher than estimated just a few months ago, the Pentagon confirmed Tuesday, but a report sent to Congress says the next-generation warplane must be continued because it is vital to national security.

Pentagon analysts now estimate that the cost to the U.S. of developing the F-35 and buying 2,443 combat-ready jets could total $382 billion through 2036.

That compares with an estimated price tag of $328 billion reported to Congress just two months ago and is more than double the original estimate of $178 billion when the program was launched in 2001.

The latest estimate, prepared by a team of independent Pentagon cost estimators, was included in a report that Ashton Carter, undersecretary of defense for weapons acquisition, was required to prepare for Congress to justify continuing the F-35 program.

The earlier cost estimate triggered the Nunn-McCurdy review, as the report is known for the law requiring it, because it showed the program was exceeding original estimates by more than 50 percent.



unhappycamper comment: More ugly surprises on the way for this $243 million dollar POS.