Joint strike fighters affordable- expert_3250

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He said Lockheed was now seeking to determine a fixed price for a consortium buy so that all aircraft cost the same for the first five or six years of production.
"In Australia's case, if we delayed a couple of years and we don't get this consortium buying or level pricing, it's a half a billion dollars extra price tag to our taxpayers. We are not playing with small amounts of money," he said.
He said in Australia's case that would be under $1 million per aircraft.
Dr Stephen Gumley,You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, chief executive of Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO), said he regarded JSF as affordable.
Dr Gumley said the government's decision to buy 24 Super Hornets was the "master risk mitigator" against delays in delivery of the JSF.
"If you all act together, everybody saves money. As soon as people start breaking ranks, it costs everybody money," he said.
"Just supposing a disaster happened - something blew up in the aircraft and back to the drawing board and you had another two year delay - Australia is getting a squadron of Super Hornets to cover a capability gap that doesn't exist now but could exist if something unexpected or disastrous happened," he said.
Dr Gumley said a final decision on JSF numbers would be made in the new Defence White Paper to be released later this year.
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighter is an advanced, stealthy, multi-role aircraft which in Australian service would replace ageing F-111 bombers and F/A-18 fighters from around the middle of next decade.
"As I sit here today, JSF is affordable. I don't have any significant issues with the cost," he said.
"Mr Fitzgibbon has been caught out - his public chest thumping on this issue has been nothing short of shameful and continues to create uncertainty for the RAAF and defence industry."
Dr Gumley said he saw no problems with JSF on its delivery schedule or its ultimate capability.
Opposition defence spokesman Nick Minchin said the DMO had confirmed what Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon would not - that the JSF would be part of Australia's future air combat capability.
"It is clear that Labor will support the coalition's decision to acquire the JSF and this confirmation from the DMO makes a mockery of Mr Fitzgibbon's junket to the US to talk tough with the JSF's prime contractor,You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, Lockheed Martin," Senator Minchin said.
Dr Gumley said the development costs had risen and it was likely all partner nations would be asked to contribute.
Cost estimates have ranged as high as $120 million.
That could be up to three times the cost of an aircraft purchased a few years later, once the production line had achieved maximum efficiency.
"So on $75 million (per aircraft) that is not a huge amount," he said.
Dr Gumley said that meant there was a commercial incentive for the 11 proposed JSF customers,You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, including Australia, to rush to the back of the queue, a move which would mean more expensive aircraft for everyone.
"I would be surprised that we would be paying more than about 75 million Aussie dollars a copy for the aircraft, measured in 2008 dollars," he told a parliamentary committee.
He said the major delay added some two years to shed excess weight but that was now well behind.
Australia is considering buying 100 aircraft but as yet has not signed a contract.
"This is a serious commercial negotiation we have to have."
Australia can expect to pay no more than $75 million for each new Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) - substantially less than some estimates.
Dr Gumley described this as the prisoner's dilemma.
But purchasing 100 aircraft would cost $7.5 billion, well within the total project upper limit cost of $12-14 billion,You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, he said.
Joint strike fighters affordable: expert
Dr Gumley said there was much confusion about the likely JSF price and it all depended on what variant of the aircraft Australia actually purchased in what year and at what foreign exchange rate.
The aircraft remains in development and there's been considerable speculation from many quarters about possible delays and cost blowouts. A report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in May pointed to a possible 50 per cent cost increase.
Unlike civilian aircraft programs where early buyers could expect a discount to get the production line running, military aircraft procured early cost much more, he said.