F-35. This program is starting to look rather slimy.

via Skiesmag.

Apex Industries Inc. is the newest Canadian industrial partner with Lockheed Martin on the F-35 Lightning II program. This agreement uses the machining expertise of Apex for aluminum metallic components, and they will produce structural parts that span the forward fuselage and wing. The agreement is a multi-year contract with all work being completed at Apex’s Moncton location in New Brunswick.

The award to Apex is a recent example of how Lockheed Martin is partnering with Canadian Industry for the F-35 program.  This opportunity is part of the more than $11 billion to be offered to Canadian Industry over 30 years and adds to the more than $500M in contracts to date.  While supporting the program, Apex can utilize and mature their capabilities to capture more opportunities in the future.  Currently, there are more than 34 Canadian suppliers on contract to the F-35 program.

“Lockheed Martin is honored Apex Industries is joining the F-35 Canadian Industrial team to bring value to the program as we increase our production rates and further reduce the cost of our aircraft,” said Keith Knotts,  Lockheed Martin’s director of F-35 Business Development in Canada. “Apex’s contribution will be substantial F-35 machining work which is extremely important as the program continues to grow.”

How many times can you slice the pie?

Was it really necessary to bring this company online or is it simply part of the marketing campaign to woo Canada into the program?  Don't laugh.  The Canadian Department of National Defense just told their government that the cost of the plane could possibly reach 71 Billion dollars.

But to make sure I'm not picking on a Canadian company, can we say that any of the overseas production deals are necessary?  Do they add value or do they add cost?  I remember not too long ago Boeing tried a similar (but much smaller) scheme with the 787 and in the end they brought all production back to the US to gain efficiency and to save money.

This program has gone from being questionable, to being wildly expensive...to now being slimy.  God help me but I'm going to parrot critics that I once lambasted.

This is looking like a Ponzi Scheme.