Sat, Dec 24, 2016
Asks Boeing To Price Out F-18 Super Hornet 'Comparable' To Lockheed's JSF
President-elect Donald Trump isn't done trying to get the costs of some military programs down. After squawking about the price of a new Air Force One aircraft under development, and criticizing the costs of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, he's now gone back to Boeing with a request to "cost out" an F/A-18 Super Hornet that would be "comparable" to the new 5th generation fighter.
In typical Trump fashion, the President-elect was very public about his request ... posting it on Twitter. "Based on the tremendous cost and cost overruns of the Lockheed Martin F-35, I have asked Boeing to price-out a comparable F-18 Super Hornet!" he posted on Thursday afternoon.
Fox News reports that Lockheed Martin did not have any immediate comment about the Tweet. But Marcus Weisgerber, vice president of the Pentagon Press Association, tweeted that the two jets are not comparable. While the Super Hornet may cost less, it is not a 5th generation stealth aircraft. But, he said, Trump's very public move "really turns up the heat on @LockheedMartin entering contract negotiation for the next 100 F-35s. The price is really gonna fall now."
President-elect Trump met with the CEOs of both companies at his resort at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach. Both CEOs said they discussed lowering project costs with the incoming President.
When Trump tweeted earlier this month that the F-35 was too expensive and he would cut "billions" in military purchases, Lockheed said it has made significant cost reductions in the F-35, and the aircraft is now expected to cost about $85 million (each) in 2019 and 2020.
The F-35 program represents about 20 percent of Lockheed's total 2015 revenue, according to the company.
(Images from file)
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