via Reuters (read it all there).
Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Co (LMT.N) Chief Executive Marillyn Hewson said the company is making "good progress" in negotiations with the Pentagon about the next two batches of F-35 fighter jets and hopes to complete an agreement in the near term.In the past I would have cheered this.
Lockheed is building three models of the F-35 for the U.S. military and eight international partner countries - Britain, Australia, Canada, Norway, Turkey, Italy, Denmark and the Netherlands. Israel and Japan have also ordered the jet.
Pentagon officials had hoped to reach agreement with Lockheed on the sixth and seventh orders of F-35 jets - deals valued at multiple billions of dollars - around mid-year, after protracted and difficult discussions on the previous order.
The total number of jets involved is 71, with 36 of the planes to be purchased in the sixth production lot, and 35 in the seventh, said Joe DellaVedova, spokesman for the Pentagon's F-35 office. He said that number includes 60 F-35s for the U.S. military, and 11 for Australia, Italy, Turkey and Britain.
Today I can only cringe.
One airplane is holding Marine Corps procurement hostage and we can't shoot it in the face and escape.
Spare me the talk about it being necessary. Spare me the talk about it being impossible to delay without killing the program. I keep looking over at the Navy and wondering what do they know that everyone else doesn't. The Air Force, Marine Corps and our allies are all lining up to buy this airplane and Navy Aviation is sitting back--relaxed---chilled the fuck out---laughing at us all.
They're going to buy a miniscule amount of these airplanes and yet they feel confident that they can handle the Chinese hordes that will be thrown against our carriers.
What do they know????
