Pentagon's F-35 deep dive to drive lower costs on block buy deal

Defense News: NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The Pentagon’s director of defense pricing is helping the F-35 joint program office nail down a better deal on a block buy, the program head said Monday.

Earlier this year, Shay Assad, the official charged with scrutinizing the price of weapon programs, announced that his office would conduct a “deep dive” to find the “true cost” of the joint strike fighter. The effort would focus on delayering the supply chain and incentivizing second-tier suppliers onward to invest their own money to make production more efficient.

In an exclusive Sept. 18 interview with Defense News, Vice Adm. Mat Winter said Assad has already started making recommendations to the joint program office, or JPO, that are influencing contract negotiations, particularly the block buy that will encompass lots 12, 13 and 14.

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