Pentagon Ramps Up Pressure On F-35 Price

The Pentagon is demanding lower prices for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, pressuring Lockheed Martin and engine supplier Pratt & Whitney to go below their most aggressive cost targets.

Procurement chief Ashton Carter says he does not expect to pay the projected $92-million average unit cost (in 2002 dollars).

JSF procurement “is not happening at that price,” and the Defense Department cannot afford the cost to go higher, ­Carter told the Credit Suisse/Aviation Week 2010 Aerospace and Defense Conference in New York last week.

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