Armed Forces News

The Defense Department and three primary contractors have unveiled plans to lower production costs for the F-35 Lightning II fighter. The three contractors – Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and BAE Systems – agreed to invest as much as $170 million between now and 2016 in measures aimed at directly reducing the costs associated with the aircraft. “Taxpayers will reap benefits,” said Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, the program executive officer for the F-35. “By 2019, we expect that the F-35 with its unprecedented 5th-generation capability will be nearly equal in costs to any other fighter on the market, but with far more advanced capability.” The announcement came as the F-35 fleet was grounded pending the outcome of an investigation into an engine fire on one of the aircraft. Pentagon officials and contractors alike had to cancel plans to showcase the plane at the Farnborough Air Show in Great Britain this month. At publication time, media reports are indicating that the F-35 has been cleared to fly again.