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Re-watching the Four Corners documentary "Reach for the Sky" yesterday, it appears that Alan Williams, Former Assistant Deputy Defence Minister of Canada believes that the Lockheed Martin marketing machine low-balled the cost of purchasing and maintaining the F-35 Lightning II to get an early purchase commitment from the government of Canada. Lockheed Martin set the expectation of $16 billion while the Auditor General of Canada after an audit stated that the cost of 65 aircraft was closer $25 billion. In addition, the government of Canada committed to the aircraft without a detailed comparison of other aircraft that could be used to replace the aging CF-18. The media in Canada has labeled the F-35 procurement a national scandal and fiasco. Hence, the appearance of corruption in the JSF program.If a member of the government of Canada believes that Lockheed Martin low-balled the cost of the F-35, it calls into question the cost projections and the schedules that decision-makers used to make the initial JSF decision. Did Lockheed Martin deliberately misrepresent the cost and complexity of the F-35 program? What should we make of the assurances made by Lockheed Martin or the JSF program office concerning the capabilities of the aircraft?
Re-watching the Four Corners documentary "Reach for the Sky" yesterday, it appears that Alan Williams, Former Assistant Deputy Defence Minister of Canada believes that the Lockheed Martin marketing machine low-balled the cost of purchasing and maintaining the F-35 Lightning II to get an early purchase commitment from the government of Canada. Lockheed Martin set the expectation of $16 billion while the Auditor General of Canada after an audit stated that the cost of 65 aircraft was closer $25 billion. In addition, the government of Canada committed to the aircraft without a detailed comparison of other aircraft that could be used to replace the aging CF-18. The media in Canada has labeled the F-35 procurement a national scandal and fiasco. Hence, the appearance of corruption in the JSF program.
If a member of the government of Canada believes that Lockheed Martin low-balled the cost of the F-35, it calls into question the cost projections and the schedules that decision-makers used to make the initial JSF decision. Did Lockheed Martin deliberately misrepresent the cost and complexity of the F-35 program? What should we make of the assurances made by Lockheed Martin or the JSF program office concerning the capabilities of the aircraft?
