Posted on 05/20/2010 11:05:07 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
The House Armed Services Committee late Wednesday added eight F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft carrier-based fighter jets to the fiscal 2011 defense authorization bill shortly before the panel unanimously approved the measure, 59-0.
The $760 billion defense bill, which sets Pentagon policy and prescribes military spending levels, is expected on the House floor next Thursday, making it one of the last possible orders of business before members depart for the week-long Memorial Day recess.
The additional Super Hornets had been expected to spark a dispute that pitted the amendment's sponsor, Seapower Subcommittee ranking member Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., against fellow Missourian, Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo. Boeing Co. builds the planes in St. Louis, just outside Akin's district.
But Akin and Skelton negotiated changes to the amendment before it came up at the markup and ultimately included it in an en bloc package of noncontroversial amendments.
The amendment came just days after the Pentagon notified Congress that it will proceed with a multiyear procurement deal with Boeing Co. to buy 124 F/A-18 aircraft between fiscal 2010 and fiscal 2013.
The Navy's fiscal 2011 budget request, sent to Congress Feb. 1, includes $1.9 billion to buy 22 Super Hornets and $1.1 billion for 12 E/A-18G Growlers, electronic attack aircraft that use the same airframe. The multiyear deal, according to the Pentagon, would save 10 percent on the cost of each plane, for a total savings over the next four years of $590 million.
The total cost for the additional planes, including associated government equipment and spare parts, comes to $630.5 million.
(Excerpt) Read more at govexec.com ...
The fools in charge of the F/35 project got so off on their extreme coolness that they forgot the point: low cost and high effectiveness at a great price-point.
The F18 and F16 continue to dominate in their respective spaces at their respective price-points! Which was the POINT of those MRFs and which has been lost on the egos mismanaging the JSF.
Bump
Isn’t the JSF a multi-party, EU-esque venture?
ping
>>Isn’t the JSF a multi-party, EU-esque venture?<<
That is my understanding. That IMHO is why it has become overburdened by mission creep. It was supposed to be a replacement for the F-16/F-18 niche: inexpensive, nimble and able to fulfill a broad array of missions — a true MRF. Now they are trying to have it be Air Superiority, F/A, Bomber and whatever else the committees can think of.
It has become heavier, slower, more complex and a LOT more expensive.
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Good. The way things are going, this is the only way to keep fresh fighters on the Navy’s decks in the coming decades.
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