LOCKHEED MARTIN is guaranteeing a cost saving of 15% on the F-16 if the US Government allows the manufacturer to switch from military-procurement practices to commercial standards.
Commercialisation of production would reduce the price of an F-16 fighter sold to, or through the US Government to below the $20 million for aircraft built in 1994.
Subsidiary Lockheed Fort Worth, (LFWC) has submitted a proposal to the US Department of Defense, to make F-16 production a pilot-plant programme for defence-acquisition reform.
If accepted, commercial practices would be implemented in mid-1996 and LFWC would re-price aircraft already in production or on order through the US Government's Foreign Military Sales programme to reflect the cost reductions achieved.
The price reduction would also apply to any additional F-16s the US Air Force may buy. The USAF has no aircraft on order, but has a requirement for 120 new F-16s to fill the gap before a replacement aircraft becomes available from the Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) programme.
LFWC work on the JAST and the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 would continue under military-procurement rules. Under the commercialisation proposal, suppliers of F-16 Government-furnished equipment would become LFWC subcontractors.
The proposal is the result of a one-year commercialisation study which identified 13 military-procurement practices which drove up F-16 costs unnecessarily, LFWC says.
Source: Flight International
