(To be sold to Canada) F-35s cost more than $100M each: U.S. official

[alp227]

Source: CBC News

New fighter jets Canada plans to buy will be more than $100 million each — at least $25 million more per plane than government estimates — according to a top U.S. budget watchdog.

Conservative government officials have said 65 new joint strike fighters being built to replace Canada's F-18 jets will cost about $75 million each, about $9 billion with training and an additional $200-$300 million a year in maintenance.

But Mike Sullivan, director of acquisition management at the US General Accountability Office, said he doesn't know where that estimate comes from.

"That's not a number that I am familiar with at all," he said in an interview Tuesday with CBC's Power & Politics with Evan Solomon, cautioning he hasn't seen the methodology behind the numbers.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/03/29/cv-f35-costs.html

[Sherman A1]

1. I thought they cost more than that?

They are too damn expensive, but I thought they were higher.

[F Bastiat]

3. They are no doubt, too expensive...

but if Canada is willing to buy them at that price, let 'em have all they want.

[ProudDad]

7. They would be if they're allowed to be built...

The selling price to the USAmerican Imperial Allies will be subsidized by the USAmerican sheeple (read taxpayer)...

Another fucking war toy scam!


On Edit:

The ones those assholes in Wash will be selling the Saudis, the Israelis, the Indonesians and the "NATO allies", etc., etc., etc. will be even more heavily subsidized -- first the "purchase price" will be subsidized by the sheeple and then they will be bought using USAmerican tax payer money called "Aid"...

[Keith Bee]

2. What does Canada need with fighter jets?

Are they expecting warfare with a newly-independent Quebec?

[juxtaposed]

4. canada would be a fool to do this!!

[CHIMO]

5. Watch

For Mike to be quickly shuffled away.

[AllTooEasy]

6. Sell them 15,000 and no more national debt. Sell, Sell, Sell!!!

[ProudDad]

8. Funny, one of those air force assholes told me to my face

that they would cost $65 million tops!!!

Just a little over a year ago...

Fucking liars...

-----------------------------------

Not to mention that the selling price to USAmerican Imperial Allies will be subsidized by the USAmerican sheeple (read taxpayer)...

Another fucking war toy scam!

The ones those assholes in Wash will be selling the Saudis, the Israelis, the Indonesians and the "NATO allies", etc., etc., etc. will be even more heavily subsidized.

First the "purchase price" will be subsidized by the sheeple (as above)...

And then they will be bought using USAmerican tax payer money erroneously called "Aid"...

[Citizen Worker]

9. You really have to give the MICC credit for creating an ingenious business plan to keep the revenues

flowing.

Defense contractors design a new weapons system under design and development contracts, lobbies a compliant congress to authorize the pentagon to enter into procurement contracts. Design costs are factored into the per unit costs and the contractors are off to the banks with bags full of cash. As the contract progresses the contractor ratchets up the price until the per unit cost becomes so expensive, recall the B-2, that procurement numbers are reduced but the MICC is far from done. Soon there is a call to sell the new weapons system to our allies to recoup some of the extraordinary development costs, keep the assembly lines up and running to create jobs.

Then, a few years later as the assembly line is winding down the MICC goes to work hand in hand with the pentagon to convince congress that because our allies have these advanced weapons systems we must design and build something new so we can stay ahead of our enemies.

Meanwhile retiring military officers go to work for the very same contractors in highly paid executive positions for the purpose of lobbying their former subordinates now in senior decision making positions in the pentagon.

What a plan! And so it goes.

[James48]

10. but if you add a quart of oil, it will fail.

Turns out the latest grounding of the aircraft was due to too much OIL in the thing-

http://australianaviation.com.au/2011/03/excess-oil-blamed-for-f-35-generator-failure-jpo/


That's right- a $100 million plus aircraft, that can be destroyed simply by adding a quart of oil.

[bahrbearian]

11. We should give them a 1/2 price deal for some slightly used F-22

Put a bow on a turd, and have Donald Trump sell em.

[bongbong]

12. The military

The military took over this country sometime in the 1950s. DUH!

"Seven Days In May" was a documentary, not fiction. Interestingly, it starred Burt Lancaster, who also led the cast of another outstanding historical documentary cloaked as fiction - "Executive Action".