Pentagon won't confirm who's paying for F-35 production fix

By Courtney Albon / May 7, 2018 at 5:37 PM

The F-35 joint program office announced Monday it has resumed acceptance of the Lockheed-made jet but would not confirm who would be footing the bill -- despite past claims from Pentagon officials that the government would not be paying for the repair costs.

JPO spokesman Joe DellaVedova said in a May 7 statement that aircraft acceptance resumed May 1. He said the program has implemented "a comprehensive corrective action plan" but did not provide details about the cost of the fix or who would be paying for it. Lockheed Martin spokesman Michael Friedman said the company would not discuss cost, but reiterated that the program has a plan in place to "effectively and efficiently" address the issue.

The program first revealed the problem last year after it discovered corrosion on some of the airframe's fasteners. At the time, the JPO said the problem impacted approximately 200 aircraft.

Pentagon officials have insisted the delivery pause, which did not halt production and comes as the program is in the midst of a prolonged negotiation for low-rate initial production Lot 11, was due largely to a discrepancy about who would pay for the fix. Vice Adm Paul Grosklags, head of Naval Air Systems Command, told lawmakers at an April 11 hearing that because the mistake was Lockheed's fault, the company should pay to correct it.

"They should pay for that out of their bottom line, not our topline," he said.

DellaVedova noted that the program is working to modify the effected jets with a minimal impact to operations. He said most aircraft will receive the update within two years and the remaining jets will be completed "as their availabilities/modification timing allows."

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