The price thing isn't really that surprising, is it? Let's face it, if the true, final price were revealed at the start of a program, none of them would ever get off the drawing board. That said, this is the time when governments really do need to know the full price, with everything included. How else are defence budgets going to accommodate them?
As for the Lockheed Martin/EADS quote.
Representatives from Lockheed Martin and EADS said they have no problem meeting the 2016 deadline if they win the bid.
What else could they have said? DAPA say the ability to deliver is crucial to their decision to buy, LM are hardly going to rule themselves out of the competition by saying they can't meet the deadline. Better to say they certainly can even if they have doubts. It'll be too late once they get to the delivery phase and they're late.