Carter: Plan Afoot to Halt F-35 Cost Hikes, Delays
By JOHN T. BENNETT
Published: 9 Nov 2009 18:53
U.S. defense officials expect to finalize by late November a plan to avoid new F-35 cost increases and schedule slips that have been forecast by a Pentagon analysis cell, Ashton Carter, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, said Monday.
DoD Undersecretary Ashton Carter says defense officials expect to finish by late November a plan to avoid new F-35 cost increases and schedule slips that have been forecast by a Pentagon analysis cell. (Cherie Cullen / U.S. Department of Defense)
In an exclusive interview at the Pentagon, Carter confirmed reports that a Pentagon "joint estimate team" (JET) has determined current program plans would spawn sizeable cost growth and schedule delays after completing an annual review of the triservice, international fighter program.
"The JET II study shows both some cost increases and schedule slips, which we should do everything we can to avoid," Carter said. "Those are forecasts which say what will happen if we don't change what we're doing. And we should change what we're doing so that those predictions don't come fully to pass."
During the next few weeks, defense acquisition and program officials will weigh a number of options and ultimately put in place a plan designed to steer the fighter initiative away from the JET-predicted trouble.
Carter said he has scheduled a "major" weekend meeting on the F-35 program on Nov. 21 and 22. "I would like to have a management plan by then that tells us where we are and how we can improve the performance of this important program," he said.
Defense officials are examining a number of "management tools" they will use to build the new management plan. When asked which options are on the table, Carter pointed to one: altering the F-35 flight test program.
Officials are seeking "to determine ways in which the flight test program can be accomplished in a shorter period of time than the JET II estimates without affecting other parts of the program or increasing overall program costs," the acquisition chief said.
That weekend session will come amid an intense and comprehensive review - led by Carter - that is taking a deep analytical look inside the F-35 program, which Defense Secretary Robert Gates earlier this year made the centerpiece of the future American tactical fighter fleet when he halted F-22 production and ordered more Lockheed Martin-made F-35s.
The estimate team's assessment, first reported by InsideDefense.com, found the program needs an additional $16 billion, and could be delayed two years. Carter declined to discuss those figures, but said he does not anticipate any F-35 cost increases that would be large enough to trigger federal provisions that require Pentagon officials to end or significantly revamp programs that exceed specific cost caps.
Pentagon brass "have not yet reached any conclusions" on the matter, said Carter, adding he "meets daily" with a list of senior officials involved in the F-35 program. Attendees at those sessions include the Air Force and Navy acquisition executives, the F-35 program manager, the Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation officials who conducted the latest estimate and members of his own staff, he said.
Lockheed officials also are involved in the ongoing process.
The daily sessions are "looking at each ingredient" of the complex fighter program, including: the Fort Worth, Texas-based assembly operation; mission software development work; the flight test initiative; and the primary engine development effort, Carter said.
The primary engine, being developed by Pratt & Whitney and referred to as the F135, also is receiving increased scrutiny from the Pentagon's top weapons-buying office.
As DefenseNews.com first reported Sept. 9, Carter has established a joint assessment team charged with reviewing all aspects of development and production of the F-35's primary power plant.
That assessment was needed "because of cost-growth issues," he said during the interview.
In an undated memo ordering the engine review, Carter ordered the joint assessment team to look at "all aspects of development and production of the F135 engine, with primary focus on understanding the production cost, cost drivers, cost projections and long-term affordability of the F135."
Carter, according to the memo, has directed the F135 review team to "develop a plan to address F135 cost and affordability" and complete its work by Nov. 20.
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