Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Financial Times
March 25, 2008 By Sylvia Pfeifer, Defence Industries Correspondent
Early next month, ministers in Britain are expected to give the final go-ahead for two new £4bn ($7.9bn) aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy. The 65,000 tonne ships will be the most powerful ever to sail in the navy but there is growing concern that delays to the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme in the US mean they will be setting out to sea without their intended aircraft.
The first of the navy’s two new carriers is due to enter service in 2014. The government had planned to operate the JSF from the ships. However, it emerged this year the navy would initially have to operate the latest version of the Harrier jump jet, developed decades ago.
“We actually do plan to use the (Harrier) GR9 on the first of the carriers. The idea that we will have a carrier’s worth of fully equipped JSFs in 2014 is not going to happen,” said David Gould, chief operating officer for equipment and support at the Ministry of Defence.
The $299bn (£150bn) JSF programme, recently re-named the F-35 Lightning II, is the most expensive armaments programme ever. Midway through development, however, it still needs to clear important hurdles.
This month, congressional auditors in the US warned the programme was “over cost and behind schedule”. In its report, the Government Accountability Office warned that procurement costs were up to $38bn over budget and the development schedule likely to slip from 12 to 27 months.
The JSF is billed as an aircraft that will transform military aviation. Once in service, it will become the primary fighter for the navy, the air force and the Marine Corps, replacing the F/A-18 Hornet, the F-16 and Harrier respectively.
In practice it is three similar fighters. First, to be bought by the US air force and most allies, is a conventional fighter designed for standard airstrips. The second is for the US navy, while the third is a “jump jet”, modelled on the Harrier. This third version – known as “Stovl”, for Short Take-Off, Vertical Landing – will be used by the US marines and the UK’s RAF and Royal Navy.
But given its size and complexity, there have been persistent concerns as to whether Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor for the programme, will be able to deliver on time and on budget. In the UK, defence analysts have in the past suggested a naval version of the Eurofighter Typhoon as an alternative to the JSF on the carriers.
Lockheed Martin insists a US Department of Defense study due to be published next month will provide a more accurate picture of the state of the programme than the recent GAO report.
The company says the first Stovl aircraft will fly this summer as planned, despite recent problems with the engine. “There will be no significant delay,” it said.
Giving testimony to Congress this month, John Young, the top Pentagon acquisitions official, said: “We are trying very hard to deliver the Joint Strike Fighter within the budget. We have had some challenges. The company has not met schedules in the past. We have made choices and continue to manage.”
Senior industry executives in the UK say privately they are concerned the project is still less than 10 per cent through its test flight programme.
The number of test aircraft has also recently been reduced by two.
Lockheed Martin says it is conducting “one of the most robust flight test programmes in history”.
It will have seven aircraft flying next year: “When you have seven or so flying all at the same time, you are really knocking off test points.”
In the UK, the MoD’s budget pressures, combined with concerns unit costs of the aircraft will increase, has led to speculation Britain will not buy the full complement of 150 first intended.
This year, General Sir Kevin O’Donoghue, chief of defence materiel, admitted the eventual number would depend on the final price, yet to be decided.
Francis Tusa, editor of Defence Analysis, said: “This is the first in the cuts in the JSF offtake. We will see more in the next three years.”
March 25, 2008 By Sylvia Pfeifer, Defence Industries Correspondent
Early next month, ministers in Britain are expected to give the final go-ahead for two new £4bn ($7.9bn) aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy. The 65,000 tonne ships will be the most powerful ever to sail in the navy but there is growing concern that delays to the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme in the US mean they will be setting out to sea without their intended aircraft.
The first of the navy’s two new carriers is due to enter service in 2014. The government had planned to operate the JSF from the ships. However, it emerged this year the navy would initially have to operate the latest version of the Harrier jump jet, developed decades ago.
“We actually do plan to use the (Harrier) GR9 on the first of the carriers. The idea that we will have a carrier’s worth of fully equipped JSFs in 2014 is not going to happen,” said David Gould, chief operating officer for equipment and support at the Ministry of Defence.
The $299bn (£150bn) JSF programme, recently re-named the F-35 Lightning II, is the most expensive armaments programme ever. Midway through development, however, it still needs to clear important hurdles.
This month, congressional auditors in the US warned the programme was “over cost and behind schedule”. In its report, the Government Accountability Office warned that procurement costs were up to $38bn over budget and the development schedule likely to slip from 12 to 27 months.
The JSF is billed as an aircraft that will transform military aviation. Once in service, it will become the primary fighter for the navy, the air force and the Marine Corps, replacing the F/A-18 Hornet, the F-16 and Harrier respectively.
In practice it is three similar fighters. First, to be bought by the US air force and most allies, is a conventional fighter designed for standard airstrips. The second is for the US navy, while the third is a “jump jet”, modelled on the Harrier. This third version – known as “Stovl”, for Short Take-Off, Vertical Landing – will be used by the US marines and the UK’s RAF and Royal Navy.
But given its size and complexity, there have been persistent concerns as to whether Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor for the programme, will be able to deliver on time and on budget. In the UK, defence analysts have in the past suggested a naval version of the Eurofighter Typhoon as an alternative to the JSF on the carriers.
Lockheed Martin insists a US Department of Defense study due to be published next month will provide a more accurate picture of the state of the programme than the recent GAO report.
The company says the first Stovl aircraft will fly this summer as planned, despite recent problems with the engine. “There will be no significant delay,” it said.
Giving testimony to Congress this month, John Young, the top Pentagon acquisitions official, said: “We are trying very hard to deliver the Joint Strike Fighter within the budget. We have had some challenges. The company has not met schedules in the past. We have made choices and continue to manage.”
Senior industry executives in the UK say privately they are concerned the project is still less than 10 per cent through its test flight programme.
The number of test aircraft has also recently been reduced by two.
Lockheed Martin says it is conducting “one of the most robust flight test programmes in history”.
It will have seven aircraft flying next year: “When you have seven or so flying all at the same time, you are really knocking off test points.”
In the UK, the MoD’s budget pressures, combined with concerns unit costs of the aircraft will increase, has led to speculation Britain will not buy the full complement of 150 first intended.
This year, General Sir Kevin O’Donoghue, chief of defence materiel, admitted the eventual number would depend on the final price, yet to be decided.
Francis Tusa, editor of Defence Analysis, said: “This is the first in the cuts in the JSF offtake. We will see more in the next three years.”