March 29, 2024

GAO Calls F-35 “Not Affordable”

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A Government Accountability Office (GAO) draft report says the F-35’s long-term costs may “not be affordable” and appear to be substantially higher than those of existing combat aircraft fleets that the stealthy fighter will replace, reports Breaking Defense. The estimated gap between the F-35 sustainment costs and those of the F/A-18, F-15, F-16 and Harrier fleets as measured in 2010 is about $8.8 billion, a 79 percent increase. A source close to the program, however, called the comparison an example of how GAO was “comparing apples and oranges.” The GAO also said that the DoD “has not fully addressed” aircraft reliability and technical data rights, which may affect sustainment.

The Somerset County Planning and Zoning Commission conducted a work session last week focusing on issues associated with composing a proposed county ordinance for industrial-scale wind farm operations, reports delmarvanow. Topics included decommissioning responsibilities if the wind farm went out of business, decibel levels and cell phone impacts. Navy officials, concerned about the turbines affecting NAS Pax River flight testing radar, prefer that turbine height not exceed 400 feet, and requested an ordinance clause that would allow the DoD to halt the wind farm operation if justified. The panel will address all concerns at another work session scheduled for tonight at 6 p.m. at the County Government Complex in Princess Anne.

The GAO revealed that the Pentagon has almost a million contractors in their system that are not on the payroll, according to The Washington Post. The report added that inaccurate data “hampers DOD’s ability to reduce its number of clearance holders to minimize risk and reduce costs to the government.” It also raises questions about the need for 5.1 million people, across the government, to be eligible for security clearances.

There are several major decision points coming up for the Navy that must be decided with or without Congress input, according to a DefenseNews analysis. Three programs at the top of the decision list are reviewed including the Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS); the Small Surface Combatant (SSC) and the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS).

The rise of ISIS could reverse the military’s shrinking unmanned aircraft budget, according to Defense One. DoD Undersecretary Michael Vickers said the rise of the Islamic State “has exposed . . . shortfalls that we believe we now have in some capacity areas” — specifically, UAV flights, or what the military calls intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Defense News provides an interview with Frank Kendall, the Pentagon’s top weapon buyer, about his latest guidance on “Better Buying Power 3.0” acquisition reform. Mr. Kendall called for a renewed focus on research and innovation to maintain the increasingly tenuous lead that the US holds in military technology over its adversaries.

A Russian military expert claims that stealthy fighter jets and bombers can’t stay hidden much longer as enemy radar technology improves, reports Real Clear Defense. The Pentagon has invested roughly a trillion dollars since the 1970s on the premise that detection-dodging stealth will be effective for decades to come.

Fleet Readiness Center Southeast artisans are striving to build essential 20mm gun insert blast diffusers used on the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft well ahead of their production schedule to meet the deployment needs of US warfighters, reports NAVAIR News.

The US is planning a nationwide wave of atomic arms revitalization that includes plans for a new generation of weapon carriers, according to The New York Times. A recent federal study put the collective price tag over the next three decades at up to a trillion dollars.

Lockheed Martin space systems division has secured a contract modification potentially worth $828.4 million to provide the US Navy with additional Trident II missiles and associated support services, reports GovCon Wire.

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