atla wrote:"...American taxpayers, the U.S. military services, and foreign purchasers — all of whom have been promised F-35 aircraft for as little as $85 million each — are in for a rude awakening.
When real F-35 purchase prices unfold in the future, they may be as much as they are today—averaging more than $200 million per aircraft..."
http://nation.time.com/2013/06/07/on-fi ... z2VaB8RkeP
Written by Winslow Wheeler, a complete anti-jsf fanatic. Nice source....not. Besides he is mixing flyaway costs with total procurement costs. Could WW explain why a dozen countries choose the JSF to purchase, and why other jets are hardly sold?
Complete rubbish story. I think the only rude awakening will be his when everything what happens is contradicting his claims of the last years.
Here some nice insights on Winslow Wheelers tactics (from F-16.net):
Long-time observers of POGO, Winslow Wheeler and other so-called ‘reformers’ will note that the ‘get gunned every time’ sound bite will be dropped fairly quickly and something else concerning the F-35 will be targeted as a ‘failure’, ‘mistake’ or ‘criminally negligent’ decision/design feature/performance characteristic, perhaps from the same report, or from one to come later. This is because POGO et al are acutely aware that an extended exchange or dialog with anyone who disagrees with them will expose the misdirection they (POGO et al) endeavor to sustain. POGO and Wheeler go for the sound bite to plant negativity into the public’s consciousness knowing that the general public’s attention span is short. By the time anyone dives deep into a POGO/Wheeler claim and cries “Hey! Wait a minute!” the public has moved on to other circuses. Such ‘Hit and Run’ tactics, along with their careful cultivation of media enablers, allow POGO/Wheeler relief from ever having their methods, biases and motives undergo serious public scrutiny. This is classic guerrilla warfare of the information domain.
Once the initial ‘buzz’ is past, if the ‘get gunned every time’ line is ever again referenced by POGO/Wheeler, it will be as only one item in a litany of similar perversions of reality in support of some general condemnation of the F-35 or as an introduction to the next misdirection issued by POGO/Wheeler.
http://www.elementsofpower.blogspot.com ... s-aft.html
From F-16.net:
Per the latest budget, the WSC (Weapons System Cost) for a FY2016 F-35A should be $128 million USD which is 95 Euro.
So if the 4 Billion is WSC, then they should be able to buy 42 of them. They get cheaper after 2016 (120 in 2017, 107 in 2018, etc) So probably a few more than more then 30-35.
