F-35 mistake jets are costing 1/2 billion dollars to fix...

via Inside Defense.

A Government Accountability Office report released this week reveals the Defense Department may reduce F-35 Joint Strike Fighter procurement funding between fiscal years 2018 and 2020 to pay for system development and demonstration delays.

The program estimates it will need about $532 million to pay for a five-month delay to closing the JSF's development phase, and the GAO report states that the bulk of that money -- about $353 million -- would be needed in FY-18, according to preliminary budget projections. The Pentagon is expected to deliver its FY-18 budget request to Congress by the end of May.

To address that gap, the program plans to pull $451 million from procurement funding between FY-18 and FY-20 and redirect it toward SDD completion. The report states the program would then try to reprogram funds from elsewhere in the budget to recoup the procurement funds.

"According to program officials, the majority of the reprogramming actions will be below the threshold that triggers prior approval of the congressional defense committees per DOD policy," the report states.

One exception to that will be $57.9 million in Marine Corps aircraft modification funding, which will need to be approved by Congress.
Even with that budget maneuvering, the program would need to find another source to fund the additional $81 million it projects it will need to complete SDD, the report states.

The boys over at Air Power Australia have been warning about this for years.

Mistake jets.

Specifically the cost of refurbishing/repairing/bringing up to spec jets that were produced before the project was completed.

Now we have the cost.  582 million dollars.  Just a bit over a 1/2 billion dollars and that's assuming that everything stays as it is now...not counting future issues.

Do you get the force of connection?  Do you understand why the foreign buyers have been slow to buy the plane?  Would you buy a car early if you knew it would have to go back to the factory for modification to get what you were promised when you bought it?

One word describes this program and the behavior of leadership involved in it.

Criminal.