via Military.com
The Pentagon's base budget is currently $496 billion, plus another $64 billion for overseas missions. Obama's increases would allow for new next-generation F-35 fighters, ships and submarines and long-range Air Force tankers. Military leaders have also said the earlier cuts forced reductions in flying hours, training and equipment maintenance.And there you have it.
On the domestic side, Obama has proposed offering two free years of community college and creating new or expanded tax credits for child care and spouses who both work. He's called for raising the top capital gains rate on some wealthy couples and consolidating education tax breaks, although some of those ideas have already faced intense opposition.
"Until he gets serious about solving our long-term spending problem, it's hard to take him seriously," said Cory Fritz, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner.
Still, the president's budget proposal is just that - a proposal- and will not become law.
Defense Hawks are going to get stymied by Domestic Welfare Zealots and they're both gonna get steam rolled by the Deficit Warriors.
So all those news reports of Lockheed Martin stock rising on increased orders for the F-35 are simply people being taken to the bank and swindled. To properly understand defense procurement you must watch the defense corporations and the Pentagon but also politics.
Sorry F-35 fanboys. The Program Office and the Pentagon are trying mightily to save the F-35 from the death spiral by upping production.
It ain't gonna happen.
The window of opportunity closed and IF it had remained on schedule then the full buy would have occurred. It didn't and now it won't.
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense-news/blog/intercepts/2015/01/29/northrop-new-bomber-new-ad/22539301/
ReplyDeleteNorthrop teasing us with LRSB?
Time again for that beauty from the F-35 scrap book; 2003 - https://ericpalmer.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/2003-schedule.jpg
ReplyDeleteThere is a direct correlation between increased orders for faulty F-35 prototypes and Lockheed-Martin revenue, earnings,and stock price increases. General Bogdan says that increased orders are necessary, not to benefit Lockheed, but to decrease airplane unit cost. That claim is demonstrably false; Bogdan is actually seeking to benefit Lockheed.
ReplyDeleteLockheed has claimed that F-35 unit costs have been decreased by fifty percent with over two hundred plane already produced or on order, here and here. Is this true? --No.
Actually the F-35 unit cost of $86 million rose sixty percent to $137 million between 2005 and 2012 according to this General Accounting office report (Appendix I). The present F-35A unit cost of $182 million is almost three times the original 2001 $69 million cost estimate.
The same GAO report (p.25) included a Pentagon study that F-35 unit costs would further increase 6-19% under any procurement plan.
"To better understand the potential impacts on prices from changes in quantities, OSD’s Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) office did a sensitivity analysis to forecast impacts on F-35 average procurement unit costs assuming various quantities purchased by the United States and international partners. For example, if the United States bought its full quantity of 2,443 aircraft and the partners did not buy any aircraft, CAPE calculated that the average unit cost would increase by 6 percent. If the United States bought 1,500 aircraft and the partners bought their expected quantity of 697, unit costs would rise by 9 percent. If the United States bought 1,500 and the partners 0, unit costs would rise 19 percent."
And why produce more faulty prototypes anyhow? You only get five for a billion dollars, money that is needed elsewhere, plus the planes are worthless faulty prototypes, with a bum engine that restricts safe flight. Why produce them? --Corporate welfare for Lockheed-Martin courtesy of General Bogdam and his fellow JSF fan-boys.
The dream is collapsing, I guess.
ReplyDeleteAlso, speaking of air-power - Russian "insurgents" in Ukraine got new toys - http://bmpd.livejournal.com/1157618.html .
Spare parts probably supplied by Russia.