Lockheed Martin says a brand new five-year deal to maintain the F-35 fleet received’t be reached by the top of this 12 months. The Pentagon says it may not occur in any respect.
“For the F-35 program, and its regularly increasing fleet, the method to place such a contract in place is complicated, and we’ll take the time essential to get it proper. If we’re unable to take action, we’ll transfer ahead with one other method to meet warfighter sustainment necessities. Within the meantime, we proceed to supply help by our current contracts,” F-35 Joint Program Workplace spokesperson Russ Goemaere instructed Protection One in a press release.
Lockheed had lengthy offered spare components and sustainment providers for the Pentagon’s F-35 underneath a succession of annual cost-plus-incentive contracts. In September 2021, DOD and Lockheed finalized a sustainment contract for fiscal 2021 to 2023 that included a mixture of cost-plus-fixed-fee, and cost-plus and fixed-price incentive charges. However since 2019, firm officers have been working to steer DOD that it ought to transfer to five-year performance-based logistics, or PBL, contracts, underneath which the corporate can be paid to provide outcomes, not present portions of components and providers.
Firm officers have beforehand stated they anticipated the brand new PBL contract to be finalized by the top of the 12 months. Nevertheless, that timeline has now been pushed to subsequent 12 months, Jay Malave, the corporate’s chief monetary officer, stated Thursday throughout a Morgan Stanley convention.
“We have already submitted a proposal to the Joint Program Workplace for sustainment. Initially, we have been anticipating that we are able to get into contract by the top of the 12 months. It most likely will lengthen out to the start of subsequent 12 months,” Malave stated.
However such a deal should itself meet efficiency necessities imposed by Congress within the 2022 Nationwide Protection Authorization Act, which requires the Pentagon to point out that this contract would both decrease sustainment prices or enhance readiness.
“This system is working with Lockheed Martin to place in place a sustainment contract that regularly improves our efficiency in assembly warfighter readiness necessities, and that meets congressionally directed certification necessities,” JPO’s Goemaere stated.
The Pentagon does have some qualms over committing to the PBL deal, based on Ray Jaworowski, an analyst with Forecast Worldwide, a company sister to Protection One.
Whereas a agency fixed-price deal would switch monetary threat to Lockheed, “some issues exist {that a} vital quantity of flexibility might be misplaced if the Pentagon is locked right into a multiyear deal, significantly if the fee financial savings and readiness enhancements don’t materialize as anticipated,” Jaworowski stated.
On the Morgan Stanley convention, Lockheed CEO Jim Taiclet additionally talked in regards to the lately introduced delays to the latest F-35 know-how configuration, dubbed TR-3.
“It is a main {hardware} improve. With that may come a serious software program improve however the truth that a lot of the {hardware} was late and a few subcomponents to that {hardware} was additionally late in entrance of it—that compresses the software program integration check program dramatically. And each authorities and business wished to attempt to hold the unique schedule as a lot as we may and we’re simply not ready to do this,” Taiclet stated.
In a current public submitting, the corporate introduced that the planes within the TR-3 configuration received’t be delivered till a minimum of April and probably June. Taiclet echoed an earlier firm assertion in citing delays to the Built-in Core Processor, primarily the mind of the airplane, constructed by L3Harris.
Air Drive officers stated they received’t be shocked if Lockheed can’t begin TR-3 deliveries by the up to date timeframe.
“I might name that timeframe not low threat. It’s excessive threat,” Gen. Mark Kelly, head of Air Fight Command, instructed reporters Tuesday on the Air & House Forces Affiliation’s annual Air, House & Cyber convention.
Kelly stated he’s assured that the TR-3 software program and {hardware} is what’s wanted to fight future threats, however “there’s nonetheless a methods to go.” The brand new schedule is “doable,” he stated, however it is going to be “laborious work.”
Lockheed shall be required to ship a couple of dozen TR-3 jets per 30 days in 2024, based on the JPO. Nevertheless, the Pentagon is refusing to just accept the jets till they’ll cross sure assessments, which means Lockheed might need to take a seat on as much as 124 jets if the delay lasts till June.
“Projected TR-3 deliveries for 2023 are 52 and starting in 2024, projected TR-3 deliveries are anticipated at roughly 12 per 30 days,” Goemaere stated.
Requested in regards to the potential 124 jets that might be sitting in storage, Andrew Hunter, the Air Drive’s acquisition chief, stated this system had an “aggressive” method to get TR-3 fielded.
“I believe leaning ahead within the scenario that we’re in is the appropriate factor to do. Did we lean ahead an excessive amount of? Nicely, we’re the place we’re,” Hunter instructed reporters Monday on the AFA convention.
One other downside is there are “actual limits in our infrastructure” to check and ship the brand new tech, Hunter stated.
“An actual lesson realized popping out of that is that we have got to open the aperture and permit us to area these sooner they usually’re concrete issues we are able to and can do to perform that,” he stated.
