Lockheed F-35 Said to Be Cut by 13 Planes in Pentagon’s Budget

[unhappycamper]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-25/lockheed-f-35-said-to-be-cut-by-13-planes-in-pentagon-s-plan.html

Lockheed F-35 Said to Be Cut by 13 Planes in Pentagon’s Budget
By Tony Capaccio - Thu Jan 26 05:00:02 GMT 2012

The Pentagon will propose spending about $9.2 billion to buy 29 Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) F-35 jets in its fiscal 2013 budget, 13 fewer than previously planned, U.S. officials said.

The reduction is part of a decision to delay purchasing 179 of the Joint Strike Fighters beyond 2017 to continue development, testing and correction of deficiencies, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity yesterday in advance of a Defense Department announcement.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is scheduled to outline the Department of Defense budget proposal today at the Pentagon, part of an effort to cut $488 billion, or 8.5 percent, from $5.62 trillion in spending that had been planned for 2012-2021.

Beyond the next budget year, the Pentagon’s previous plan to purchase 62 F-35s in fiscal 2014 is being reduced to 29, according to budget data. The request for 2015 is dropping to 44 from 81, and the planned purchase for 2016 will decline to 61 from 108.




unhappycamper comment: $9.2 billion / 29 F-35 planes = $317,241,379 a pop for the F-35. Kind of expensive, eh?

[xchrom]

1. they'll make up the difference on drones. nt