The Pentagon has requested additional funds of 500 million dollars to finish the development phase of the most expensive US weapon system in history, Lockheed Martin's F-35.
The Joint Program Office, during a closed-door meeting last month with the Defense Acquisition Board, officially requested the sum to complete the development. According to the Department of Defense, the request will be formulated in the financial instrument 2018: it could be the first document on the desk of the next Secretary of Defense.
The United States will purchase a fleet of 2443 F-35 for a program whose current total costs amount to 379 billion dollars (they were 391 in the 2014).
Last October 14, in an eight-page memo signed by Michael Gilmore, director of the Department of Defense for operational tests, "strongly advised to restructure the program and the resources needed to reach full capacity".
The 500 million dollars more are not considered an excessive request, considering the size of the program. The entire development phase of the F-35 has reached 55 billion dollars: it should have been concluded by the end of the 2012 fiscal year.
According to Frank Kendall, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, the development phase should end in the autumn of 2017. Timing not shared by Gilmore which sets a possible conclusion of the development of the F-2018 in November of the 35 "unless the planned evaluations are ignored".
According to Gilmore, "further tests are needed to validate the latest software version. Insufficient progress in mission systems has been found, deficiencies in the design of the cannon and for its implementation ". Finally, Gilmore finds too few aircraft available for flights and up to 1.179 "significant open" on software deficiencies.
In an August 9 report, a week after the Air Force's initial operational certification, Gilmore found only "limited progress" in the F-35 program.
Last September, Air Force Secretary Deborah James told Congress that within the first few months of the 2018, the F-35 would reach full combat capability.
A few hours later, in an email Gilmore writes "that this estimate is unlikely since the program is unwisely forced to operate within its current budget". According to Gilmor, the F-35 program needs additional funds "to correct a considerable number of existing critical deficiencies and new gaps that will inevitably be discovered".
