F35 shipments slipped to 10 units during the third quarter, down from 12 in the third quarter last year. A company official cited lower-tier supplier-issues for the shortfall, notably “out-of-spec” deliveries of (coolant) insulation tubes, which affected several aircraft.
The problem is serious enough that Lockheed Martin must repair existing aircraft in the field, and the slowdown will cause it to miss its 53-unit 2016 delivery target. Lockheed Martin is not expected to be back on schedule with F-35 shipments until the end of 2017
F-35 already had over 51% cost overruns.
F-35 acquisition costs will be over $400 billion
Operating costs for the 60 years planned usage of the F-35 is $1.12 trillion.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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