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WASHINGTON: The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the costliest weapons procurement project ever, is set to make its maiden test flight next week, a U.S. general running the project said on Tuesday.
“I am optimistic that we will see the airplane fly as early as Monday” at Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Fort Worth, Texas, test site, Marine Brig. Gen. David Heinz, the Pentagon program office's deputy director, told the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit in Washington, D.C.
At a projected $276.5 billion, the planned family of radar-evading warplanes represents the Pentagon's priciest planned purchase — more than 2,400 aircraft by 2027 for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.
Three single-engine F-35 models are to replace aging F-16s, F/A-18 Hornets and a range of other fighter and strike aircraft for the United States and its friends over the next 30 years.
The supersonic, multirole aircraft's development has been co-financed by eight international partners — Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway.
Heinz predicted all eight partners would buy F-35s by 2014, bringing their combined purchases to more than 3,100 aircraft, including the more than 2,400 planned for the United States and 138 scheduled for Britain.
As early as 2010, the Pentagon expects to define an F-35 configuration for sale to even more countries through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program, Heinz said.
The first buyers of these models likely would include Spain, Israel and Singapore, he said.
“I believe there will be an additional 2,000 aircraft” sold from 2015 through 2035 to countries outside the original production consortium, Heinz said.
He said the scheduled 60-minute first flight of a conventional takeoff and landing model would follow a planned low-speed taxi test at 30 knots on Wednesday and ever-faster taxiing in following days.
Citing a 40 percent chance of rain at Fort Worth Monday, Heinz left open the possibility of a slight delay. “You don't want to expose yourself to more risk … You want to crawl before you walk before you run,” he said.
John Smith, a spokesman for Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin, said: “We are making good progress toward first flight.” He said the actual date hinged on the aircraft's readiness, not on any schedule.
Key F-35 subcontractors include BAE Systems Plc and Northrop Grumman Corp.. If planned funding levels remain on track, Heinz said, Lockheed would produce one F-35 every two days 10 years from now.
He said economies of scale may make the F-35 more affordable over time. Current procurement projections are the basis for the F-35's estimated average unit cost of $45 million for the conventional model, to $60 million for one designed to land on aircraft carriers. A third jump-jet version, built for the Marine Corps, is designed for short takeoff and vertical landing.
On November 14, the Netherlands became the first of the F-35 partner nations to extend its participation from development into a production and support phase.
Canada and Australia will follow suit on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, Heinz said, with the others expected to do so by the end of this month, with the possible exception of Norway because of questions in its legislature about its industry's share of F-35-related contracts.
