Paris Air Show 2019: Lockheed Martin touts ‘25 by 25' initiative to drive down F-35 operating costs

Lockheed Martin plans to dramatically reduce through-life operating and sustainment costs of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) combat aircraft through, what it calls, its ‘25 by 25’ initiative.

Geared at reducing the F-35’s costs to USD25,000 per flight hour by 2025, this ‘25 by 25’ initiative is a company-launched effort that aims to mirror the success that Lockheed Martin has had in its goal of bringing the aircraft’s procurement costs down to below USD80 million (for the F-35A-model) by 2020.

“Over the last three years we have already seen a 15% reduction in the cost per flight hour of the F-35, and through discrete actions – management of the supply chain and logistical footprint, for example – we aim to get the current USD35,000 per flight hour down to USD25,000 by 2025,” Greg Ulmer, vice-president and general manager, F-35 programme, said at the Paris Air Show on 17 June. As noted by Ulmer, about 40% of the F-35’s operating costs are owned by Lockheed Martin, with the remainder being the responsibility of the operator.

With Lockheed Martin actually tracking ahead of its 2020 goal for a USD80 million-unit price – this target is now set to be achieved with Lot 13 of low-rate initial production (LRIP) later this year – the ‘25 by 25’ initiative should help solve the aircraft’s very high operating costs, which are seen as an Achilles’ heel for the F-35 in the international market place.