via Yahoo News.
More than 2,400 manufacturing jobs could be added at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth in the next several years if production ramps up as expected on the F-35 joint strike fighter, officials say.Wait.
Currently, Lockheed Martin has more than 10,000 employees working on the F-35 program, including about 1,600 production workers involved in building the jet fighter at the company's Fort Worth plant.In six years, the company expects that the program's "ramped-up rate" will require an additional 2,417 workers to manufacture more than 150 fighters a year. That's four times the current rate of production of three aircraft per month.
"We're going to almost 200 airplanes a year," said Steve O'Bryan, Lockheed's vice president of program development and business integration for the F-35 program.
"When you talk about what the effect is going to be in Texas, it's going to be significant."
O'Bryan offered the jobs forecast in an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram after news that Pentagon leaders had agreed to terms for the purchase of 71 additional F-35s.
In the deal, the government negotiated a lower cost for the planes, a signal that the F-35 program is stabilising after years of cost over-runs and delays, aerospace analysts said.
The deal has brought a new cautious optimism to the program, which has suffered through years of cost over-runs and technical problems since Lockheed Martin was awarded the F-35 contract in 2001.
Just last northern autumn, Pentagon leaders were moaning publicly about the program's costs and Lockheed's inability to solve problems.
Lieutenant General Christopher Bogdan, the top Pentagon official over the F-35, called the relationship between Lockheed and the military "the worst I've seen".
Let me get this straight. Lockheed has 10,000 employees working on the F-35 program and its been as screwed up and late as its been?
If production ramps up they'll add another 2400?
And we're all supposed to sing hallelujah? They're had a Reinforced Brigade worth of people on this thing, its leaked classified information like a sieve, the program manager isn't convinced that they've plugged those leaks, they ARE JUST NOW showing any sense of urgency and the best thing they can tell us is that additional jobs will be created?
Sounds desperate to me.
Sounds like an organization that is failing to grasp reality as it is, but instead is clinging to the worldview of 6 months to a year ago.
Even now, the plane costs too damn much. The plane and engine are topping (for the STOVL version) 300 million dollars.
The Marine Corps can't afford that. The Brits can't afford that. The nation can't afford it.
Lower the price DRAMATICALLY or shoot this puppy in the face. Since I don't see them doing that, I suggest you get out your 147 grain Golden Sabers and prepare to get to work.
Don't want to sound like a hippy here....but $300 million per state will pay off a lot of delunquent medical bills to free up consumer spending and stimulate the economy.
ReplyDeletewell be happy because I believe that's the plan. raid defense to pay for Obama care.
DeleteWell to hell with that! Why do we have Medical insurance bullshit to worry about when our infrastructure ( an actual vital government responsibility) is falling apart! Also, I wonder how many jobs will be created at Boeing and General Dynamics if the new F-18s and F-16s are ordered in place of F-35?
ReplyDeletewell said. i'm getting tired of the human rights police establishing new rules but refusing to realize that simply enforcing the constitution would get us where we want to go.
Deletehttp://elementsofpower.blogspot.com/2013/07/f-35-price-dropping-again-too-bad-so-sad.html
ReplyDeletebut the price is dropping
Its not going to get canceled. It survived this long and the price is trending downward, they just signed two major contracts over the next 2 years.
ReplyDeletebig picture everyone knows that there isn't going to be another aircraft that shows up and replaces the F-18, F-16, and AV-8, and sells to 11 countries. Its monopoly on the fighter market for the next 40 years.
So as far as everyone is concerned the F-35 makes more sense with sequestration, since its still cheaper than any alternatives despite the price, and they already put the money in. Production may get slowed in the future once its more secure, but its not going to get cancelled.
If it was canceled they have to start all over again, buy new airplanes in the mean time, and then spend more to replace them. With less and less money to be had services are going to fight for what they can get now, they wouldn't risk spending another 14 years to have something canceled just as the price (finally) drops. everyone knows the F-35 has problems, but the alternatives are far far worse.
I bet you a Steak Dinner the F-35 isn't canceled despite all the cuts, and all the sequestration.