F-35 total may be cut by half, report says

F-35 total may be cut by half, report says
By William Matthews - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Oct 31, 2009 13:05:26 EDT

Rising costs, changing threats and rival aircraft — manned and unmanned — could cut nearly in half the number of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters that ultimately are built, a Dutch defense analyst said in a report to the Dutch parliament. And if fewer planes are built, the price for each, already $100 million or more, will undoubtedly increase, analyst Johan Boeder warned.

A “likely estimate” is that 2,500 F-35s eventually will be built, Boeder wrote in a report delivered to Dutch lawmakers in September. The Netherlands, one of nine countries financing the development of the F-35, was expected to buy 85 planes, but may cut that to 57, Boeder said.

If his overall forecast is correct, the number of F-35s built would be far fewer than the 4,500 or more that F-35-maker Lockheed Martin said it expects to sell. The U.S. military has even predicted that the market for F-35s could reach 6,000.

Lockheed dismisses Boeder’s forecast, saying that the company anticipates no drop in demand for F-35s.

“F-35 quantities have held steady for most of the decade,” Lockheed spokesman Chris Geisel said. “Year after year, the program has received strong political and budgetary support.”


Rest of article about this $239 million dollar wonderplane at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/10/marine_f35_103109w/



unhappycamper: For $239 million dollars, you can buy one of these:




or 7 of these:




or three of these:




or three of these: