Woff1965
13th Dec 2002, 17:58
I found this article after being tipped off about it on another board...
U.S. to buy fewer F/A-22s
By Dave Montgomery
Fort Worth Star-Telegram Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - A cost overrun in Lockheed Martin's F/A-22 fighter program could be as high as $1 billion and will cause the Air Force to buy fewer planes, a top Air Force official said Friday.
Assistant Air Force Secretary Marvin R. Sambur, the service's acquisition chief, said the Pentagon is still committed to the supersonic warplane but warned that the $69.7 billion program is in danger of being canceled if Lockheed fails to meet projected cost and schedule targets.
"This program is more fragile than a lot of people believe," said Sambur, who oversees the F/A-22 for the Air Force, "so we have to have optimum performance on all sides."
Sambur, releasing the findings of an independent review, said a cost overrun reported at $690 million in early November is now estimated at $700 million and could be as high as $1 billion.
As a result, Sambur said, the Air Force will be forced to buy fewer planes to absorb the overrun. The Air Force had hoped to buy 339 planes through 2013, but Pentagon analysts project the total at fewer than 300. Sambur said at least five or six planes will be trimmed from the inventory.
The review was conducted by a "red team" of financial and technical experts after the overrun was disclosed Nov. 7. The increased costs were caused by schedule delays to correct structural and software problems, the panel concluded.
Sambur released the red team's report one day after a defense acquisition board, composed of high-level Pentagon officials, conducted its own review of the overruns.
The board, convened by Defense Undersecretary E.C. "Pete" Aldridge, expressed concern about the rising costs but acceded to the next phase of development by authorizing $3.9 billion for at least 21 planes.
Disclosure of the overrun prompted a shake-up in the F/A-22 program and increased scrutiny of the aircraft project. Dain Haincock, president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth, will lead a company delegation Wednesday to meet with Air Force officials at Lockheed's F/A-22 assembly plant in Marietta, Ga.
Air Force representatives are expected to include Gen. Richard Lewis, who is the new program executive officer for fighters and bombers, and Gen. Thomas Owen, the Air Force's new program officer for the F/A-22.
In a statement released after Sambur's round-table interview with journalists, Lockheed spokesman Sam Grizzle said the company has taken a number of steps to increase efficiency and cut costs. "The contractor team will continue to work hand in hand with the Air Force to develop options that can reduce the increase," Grizzle said.
Sambur, however, candidly put Lockheed on notice that although the Air Force aggressively supports F/A-22 development, it is also prepared to abandon the program if cost overruns become excessive.
"I will tell you right now the Air Force will not tolerate this and basically will not need the third floor [the defense secretary's offices] ... to tell us to get off this train. We will.
"You've got to draw a line in the sand," he added. "I'm not saying the line in the sand is here right now, but this program is on the bubble."
Cancellation of the program, he said, would be "traumatic" for Lockheed, the prime contractor. Lockheed's Fort Worth plant builds the middle fuselage, and Boeing, the major subcontractor, builds the wings and rear fuselage. The plane is assembled in Marietta.
The fighter project is nearing the end of a 10-year development program that will be followed by full-scale production. The warplane was conceived as a dogfighter to take on Soviet jets but is now being given an expanded mission that includes ground targets.
Sambur emphasized that the twin-engine plane "continues to perform superbly" in flight tests and remains the "cornerstone" of the Air Force's modernization plans.
The plane's cost has been a target of Pentagon budget-cutters and defense watchdog groups. Development costs have doubled since work began.
The "red team" investigators attributed part of the overrun to a problem that caused the plane's twin tails to move back and forth excessively at certain speeds. The manufacturers are continuing to correct a software problem in the plane's cockpit.
Sambur said such problems aren't uncommon in development programs and said this problem did not affect the plane's performance
Massive cost overuns, structural problems, software problems. Looks like the Baron may be moonlighting.
If the F/A 22 did get cancelled what would the US do? Buy Typhoon? or start again with a new design?
U.S. to buy fewer F/A-22s
By Dave Montgomery
Fort Worth Star-Telegram Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - A cost overrun in Lockheed Martin's F/A-22 fighter program could be as high as $1 billion and will cause the Air Force to buy fewer planes, a top Air Force official said Friday.
Assistant Air Force Secretary Marvin R. Sambur, the service's acquisition chief, said the Pentagon is still committed to the supersonic warplane but warned that the $69.7 billion program is in danger of being canceled if Lockheed fails to meet projected cost and schedule targets.
"This program is more fragile than a lot of people believe," said Sambur, who oversees the F/A-22 for the Air Force, "so we have to have optimum performance on all sides."
Sambur, releasing the findings of an independent review, said a cost overrun reported at $690 million in early November is now estimated at $700 million and could be as high as $1 billion.
As a result, Sambur said, the Air Force will be forced to buy fewer planes to absorb the overrun. The Air Force had hoped to buy 339 planes through 2013, but Pentagon analysts project the total at fewer than 300. Sambur said at least five or six planes will be trimmed from the inventory.
The review was conducted by a "red team" of financial and technical experts after the overrun was disclosed Nov. 7. The increased costs were caused by schedule delays to correct structural and software problems, the panel concluded.
Sambur released the red team's report one day after a defense acquisition board, composed of high-level Pentagon officials, conducted its own review of the overruns.
The board, convened by Defense Undersecretary E.C. "Pete" Aldridge, expressed concern about the rising costs but acceded to the next phase of development by authorizing $3.9 billion for at least 21 planes.
Disclosure of the overrun prompted a shake-up in the F/A-22 program and increased scrutiny of the aircraft project. Dain Haincock, president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth, will lead a company delegation Wednesday to meet with Air Force officials at Lockheed's F/A-22 assembly plant in Marietta, Ga.
Air Force representatives are expected to include Gen. Richard Lewis, who is the new program executive officer for fighters and bombers, and Gen. Thomas Owen, the Air Force's new program officer for the F/A-22.
In a statement released after Sambur's round-table interview with journalists, Lockheed spokesman Sam Grizzle said the company has taken a number of steps to increase efficiency and cut costs. "The contractor team will continue to work hand in hand with the Air Force to develop options that can reduce the increase," Grizzle said.
Sambur, however, candidly put Lockheed on notice that although the Air Force aggressively supports F/A-22 development, it is also prepared to abandon the program if cost overruns become excessive.
"I will tell you right now the Air Force will not tolerate this and basically will not need the third floor [the defense secretary's offices] ... to tell us to get off this train. We will.
"You've got to draw a line in the sand," he added. "I'm not saying the line in the sand is here right now, but this program is on the bubble."
Cancellation of the program, he said, would be "traumatic" for Lockheed, the prime contractor. Lockheed's Fort Worth plant builds the middle fuselage, and Boeing, the major subcontractor, builds the wings and rear fuselage. The plane is assembled in Marietta.
The fighter project is nearing the end of a 10-year development program that will be followed by full-scale production. The warplane was conceived as a dogfighter to take on Soviet jets but is now being given an expanded mission that includes ground targets.
Sambur emphasized that the twin-engine plane "continues to perform superbly" in flight tests and remains the "cornerstone" of the Air Force's modernization plans.
The plane's cost has been a target of Pentagon budget-cutters and defense watchdog groups. Development costs have doubled since work began.
The "red team" investigators attributed part of the overrun to a problem that caused the plane's twin tails to move back and forth excessively at certain speeds. The manufacturers are continuing to correct a software problem in the plane's cockpit.
Sambur said such problems aren't uncommon in development programs and said this problem did not affect the plane's performance
Massive cost overuns, structural problems, software problems. Looks like the Baron may be moonlighting.
If the F/A 22 did get cancelled what would the US do? Buy Typhoon? or start again with a new design?