F-35: As other nations delay purchases, U.S. pays price

Posted on: Dec. 3rd, 2007 || Source: star-telegram.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

F-35: As other nations delay purchases, U.S. pays price

Foreign nations are in no rush to place orders for Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jets, and that threatens to push the planes' rising cost even higher and shrink future orders.

The result is that one way or another U.S. taxpayers will likely shoulder most of the cost of getting the F-35 into production, with the bulk of foreign orders not coming until years from now, when jet prices will have dropped dramatically.

Lockheed and the Pentagon have been talking with representatives of the eight nations that have contributed $4 billion-plus to the Lightning II program about placing early orders for production in 2011-13, but the high price is a deterrent.

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