ORAC - Supply chain issues can be resolved, but it will take a realistic approach to numbers. Some suppliers have taken a conservative approach which means that they did not over-extend themselves, but on the other hand has frustrated efforts to bring the total cost down.
Others went all-in, showed their bankers the rosy projections of 2010 and earlier, and have a lot of their future business tied up in JSF. They're vulnerable.
At this point, too, LMT and the first-tiers need to take care of the little guys, who are looking at 35-36 ship-sets per year for a while rather than the 100-plus they were promised in 2010. (71 jets in two years is nothing to pop the bubbly about - it's what they need to keep the oil warm.) If the little guys die, nobody much is going to come in with cheaper bids, unless they're outsourcing to China.
Last edited by LowObservable; 30th Jul 2013 at 14:31.