US Air Force eyes F-35, tanker cutbacks

Published: Dec 07, 2005
Source: today.reuters.com



WASHINGTON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force may buy hundreds fewer Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) F-35 fighter jets than currently projected, and fewer refueling tankers than defense contractors may be expecting, U.S. Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said on Tuesday.

In an interview in his Pentagon office as part of the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit, Wynne said his latest plans "could result in a cut of in the hundreds" of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Pentagon's biggest purchase program at an estimated $256 billion.

The Air Force had been planning to buy 1,763 of the aircraft, part of a multi-service purchase through 2027. Eight other countries have invested billions of dollars in developing the new radar-evading jets.

Wynne said he expected Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force variants of the aircraft all to survive the budget process despite recent consideration of axing the Air Force's version as an economy measure.

But he said "I expect to buy fewer" than previously planned because the F-35s were proving more capable and would require less maintenance than originally forecast.

As a result, he said the production rate might fall from 110 F-35s a year to "in the 90s," with no program extension planned to recover those aircraft.continue..