Lt. Gen. Bogdan: Trump administration may get 'better deals' through better incentive structures

F-35 Program Executive Officer Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan said today the government has a number of ways to help the new administration get "better deals" on defense programs -- including the Joint Strike Fighter.

Bogdan told Inside Defense following a Jan. 24 presentation at Defense Acquisition University that the lessons the program has learned about defining clear incentives and disincentives to industry align with President Trump's stated objective to negotiate better deals, particularly on big-ticket programs like the F-35.

Structuring a program to address both warfighter requirements and industry "needs" in a way that incentivizes contractors to perform is a "foreign concept" within the department, he said, and needs to be incorporated into a program's acquisition strategy.