SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Lockheed Martin Corp is in the final stages of negotiating a deal worth more than $37 billion to sell a record 440 F-35 fighter jets to a group of 11 nations including the United States, two people familiar with the talks said.
This would be the biggest deal yet for the stealthy F-35 jet, which is set to make its Paris Airshow debut this week.
The sale represents a major shift in sales practices from annual purchases to more economic multi-year deals that lower the cost of each jet.
The pricing of the jets was still not final, though the average price of the 440 jets was expected to be $85 million, the people said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the negotiations publicly.
The multi-year deal for the fighters will consist of three tranches over fiscal years 2018-2020.
[...] Last week, representatives from 11 F-35 customer nations met in Baltimore, Maryland to discuss terms and toured a Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N) facility in Maryland that provides equipment for the jet. Those nations included Australia, Denmark, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Turkey, South Korea, Britain and the United States.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @01:44PM (2 children)
NATO members don't need this non-working plane. They need 2 other types of plane, fighters for air-superiority and bombers. And with current war theaters, and what I can think of nearby future, it needs significantly more bombers.
And for the bombers, lets face it, WWII era stuff is probably good enough with the enemies we currently face. That may be exaggerated a bit, but A-10's and other similar are doing well.
A bigger research value I can see is in a new type of helicopter/plane, like used in Vietnam. Quick in/out of troops for missions over long distance. Add the ability to stay in the area as offensive air-ground platform for extended time. That's worth a lot.
(Score: 2) by tibman on Monday June 19 2017, @03:03PM
The US is going the opposite of what you are suggesting. Multi-role fighter/bomber and ditch the A-10. Also ditching the Kiowa helicopter and use Blackhawks/Apaches instead. It's going to suck for anyone needing ground support this next decade. Unless you're fancy enough to get an AC-130.
SN won't survive on lurkers alone. Write comments.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @03:10PM
> WWII era stuff
Military aircraft have always been expensive. It's been reported that the B-29 was the most expensive weapons program ever (at the time) -- out-spending the Manhattan Project (A-bomb). The B-29 was designed to have enough range for heavy operations around the Pacific Ocean, including capacity to carry the early atomic bombs.