Defense secretary targets costly F-35, Air Force One programs
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has ordered the Pentagon to launch a review on how to save costs on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, the Pentagon’s most costly weapons-buying effort in history.
Mattis’ memo, sent on Thursday, also calls on the military to determine whether the F-18 fighter can be modified to provide a “cost-effective fighter aircraft alternative.”
The Defense chief also directed the Pentagon to look for ways to save money for the Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization program, which is responsible for developing a replacement for the current presidential aircraft, which goes by the call sign Air Force One when the president is aboard.
President Trump has blasted the $400 billion F-35 program for out-of-control costs. In December, he tweeted that “billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases.” He also criticized the higher costs of Air Force One and met with the CEOs of both Boeing and Lockheed Martin, which make the presidential aircraft and the F-35.
The F-35 program is slated to supply all the services and close U.S. allies with differing variants of the radar-evading plane. The plane has been plagued by problems with cost-overruns, performance and readiness for combat.
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On Friday, the Pentagon called the review a “prudent step.”
“This action is also consistent with the president's guidance to provide the strongest and most efficient military possible for our nation's defense, and it aligns with the secretary's priority to increase military readiness while gaining full value from every taxpayer dollar spent on defense,” Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said in a statement.
The F-18 lacks the stealth qualities of the F-35. The Navy and Marine Corps and some allies fly the F-18.
The F-35 has support among members of Congress from both sides of the aisle as plants that produce its parts and assemble are scatter among nearly all 50 states. Plans call for nearly 2,500 of the jets to be produced.
Sen. Orin Hatch, R-Utah, is one prominent backer. His state hosts Hill Air Force Base, one of the first homes for the F-35.
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