F-35 Testing Slips Into 2018 and Still No Deal On Lot 9-10 Prices, Contracts

F-35 Block 3F Test Schedule Slips As Lot 9-10 Contracting Drags On (excerpt)

(Source: Flightglobal; posted May 24, 2016)

By James Drew

WASHINGTON, DC --- The Pentagon appears to be no closer to reaching an agreement with Lockheed Martin on contracts for the production of 151 F-35 Lightning II aircraft as part of low-rate production lots nine and 10.

The F-35 Joint Programme Office (JPO) and the aircraft manufacturer have been trying to come to an agreement on pricing for the 57 total aircraft in Lot 9 and the 94 jets in Lot 10 since wrapping up an agreement for Lot 8 for 43 aircraft in October 2014.

Without giving any reason for the dragged-out negotiation process, Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall confirmed during a press briefing on 24 May that no agreement has been reached for those aircraft quantities funded in fiscal years 2015 and 2016. This is despite Lockheed already receiving funding for long-lead parts needed for the on-time production of Lot 11 aircraft (FY2017). (And the first Lot 12 contract was awarded April 22—Ed.)

“We haven’t reached an agreement,” Kendall says. “We’re working hard to get the best possible value for the taxpayer and one that we think is fair to the contractors and we’re not in agreement yet. We’re negotiating [Lots 9-10] together.”

In another development, problems incorporating Pratt & Whitney F135 engine data into the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS version 2.0.2) are threatening to delay the US Air Force’s declaration of initial operational capability with the first combat-coded squadron at Hill AFB in Utah, which is meant to occur sometime between August (objective) and December (threshold).

Having recently resolved a software stability problem in Block 3i to the best extent possible within the time constraints, Kendall says ALIS is the primary schedule challenge. (end of excerpt)

Click here for the full story, on the Flightglobal website.

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Final F-35 Testing Slips to 2018 (excerpt)

(Source: Defense News; posted May 24, 2016)

By Lara Seligman

WASHINGTON --- The military’s top weapons tester has been warning for months that the F-35 will not be ready for its final major test phase until 2018 at the earliest. Today, the Pentagon officially acknowledged the schedule slip.

“We reviewed the status of operational test planning, and there is consensus that that is likely to occur in calendar year 2018 given the realities of the schedule at this time,” said Frank Kendall, the Pentagon’s top acquisition official, during a Tuesday conference call. “The target was the middle of 2017, but it’s clear we’re not going to make that.”

This slip reflects a six-month delay for initial operational test and evaluation, or IOT&E, the last major period of testing before full-rate production.

The joint program office’s objective to begin IOT&E was August or September of 2017, said JPO Chief Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, speaking to reporters along with Kendall after the F-35 Chief Executive Officer roundtable in Phoenix, Ariz. But that start date has slipped to January or February, he said.

The challenge lies with retrofitting all 23 aircraft required for IOT&E with the full 3F software and hardware capability, Bogdan said. (end of excerpt)

Click here for the full story, on the Defense News website.

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