Defense & Intelligence Policy, Business and Technology

Pentagon targets lower-tier suppliers on new $60M F-35 affordability effort

Defense News: WASHINGTON — The F-35 program office and Lockheed Martin are kicking off a second round of cost-cutting initiatives in the hopes of driving unit costs of an A-model to $80 million by 2020, and this time, more focus will be on Lockheed’s expansive supply chain.

The Pentagon on Monday awarded Lockheed $60 million for “cost savings projects to reduce the cost of the F-35 joint strike fighter air system.”

On Tuesday, Joe DellaVedova, spokesman for the F-35 joint program office, confirmed that payment would fund the second phase of Blueprint for Affordability, referred to as BFA, which will begin to reap savings as early as the twelfth low rate initial production lot.

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