The US military's next budget proposal remains mostly a mystery, but the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) has given us a sneak preview about one key detail.
The JPO on Wednesday posted a notice saying they intend to buy 53 Pratt & Whitney F135 engines for the sixth lot of low-rate initial production (LRIP-6). Since the F135 is the only engine in the JPO's program of record, the number of engines and jets in LRIP-6 are equal.
Buying 53 F-35s in LRIP-6 means the Department of Defense is cutting the order by 29 jets compared to the 2009 plan. We knew that the program restructuring announced on 1 February moved 122 total aircraft out of the six-year order plan, but the individual numbers were not disclosed.
The change means that Lockheed's ramp-up rate from LRIP-5 to LRIP-6 decreases from nearly 2.0 to about 1.25.
It's also not clear how many orders by foreign customers might be included in the LRIP-6 deal. The 2009 plan assumed 36 additional aircraft sales to foreign partners in 2012, including 10 by Turkey, eight by Australia, six by the United Kingdom, six by Italy and six by the Netherlands.
The JPO on Wednesday posted a notice saying they intend to buy 53 Pratt & Whitney F135 engines for the sixth lot of low-rate initial production (LRIP-6). Since the F135 is the only engine in the JPO's program of record, the number of engines and jets in LRIP-6 are equal.
Buying 53 F-35s in LRIP-6 means the Department of Defense is cutting the order by 29 jets compared to the 2009 plan. We knew that the program restructuring announced on 1 February moved 122 total aircraft out of the six-year order plan, but the individual numbers were not disclosed.
The change means that Lockheed's ramp-up rate from LRIP-5 to LRIP-6 decreases from nearly 2.0 to about 1.25.
It's also not clear how many orders by foreign customers might be included in the LRIP-6 deal. The 2009 plan assumed 36 additional aircraft sales to foreign partners in 2012, including 10 by Turkey, eight by Australia, six by the United Kingdom, six by Italy and six by the Netherlands.
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