Ares:
CPFH: The Next Big F-35 Debate?
Last year, one of the big JSF debates was over the “true” cost of sustaining the single-engine, stealthy F-35. Navy officials arrived at a $1 trillion figure to operate the aircraft for 50 years. To say it caused sticker shock in the Pentagon would be a massive understatement, and officials in militaries abroad eyeing F-35 purchases have spent countless hours since trying to get a better grip on the cost to operate this jet. Though there has been no definitive figure released to that point, the debate about F-35 sustainment has taken a new turn.
It seems now that the focus is all about the cost per flying hour (CPFH) of the aircraft. This is how the U.S. services account for the cost of operating their aircraft. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said last week that he has been briefed – not surprisingly – on two CPFH figures. One, from prime contractor Lockheed Martin, was lower that that provided by the Air Force, he said. Welsh says he directed the procurement corps to “put these numbers side by side and figure out exactly what the differences were between the number we had and the number [Lockheed Martin] had [and] to try and get at that problem.” These numbers have not been released...............