December 23, 200817 yr From Flight International DATE: 23/12/08 SOURCE: Flightglobal.com US Navy mulls slashing F-35C orders next year By Stephen Trimble The US Navy has disclosed it may cut as many as three out of four carrier variant aircraft from next year's batch of orders for Lockheed Martin F-35s. Any cuts would reduce the overall number of F-35s ordered in the fourth lot of low rate initial production (LRIP-4) from 32 to as low as 29. The US Air Force and the US Marine Corps still intend to buy 13 F-35As and 15 F-35Bs, respectively, according to an acquisition notice posted yesterday. But the first batch of F-35Cs purchased during the LRIP phase could vary from one to four, the notice says. No reason for the USN's indecision on LRIP-4 is given in the acquisition notice. USN, Lockheed and F-35 programme officials were unavailable to comment immediately. The contract for LRIP-4 is scheduled to be awarded in January, the notice adds. The USN plans to buy a total of 640 F-35Cs and short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing F-35Bs over the life of the programme. Last year, the F-35 Joint Programme Office announced delaying the initial operational capability (IOC) date for the F-35C to 2015. The USN is currently evaluating its future tactical aircraft inventory needs as the service faces an acknowledged shortfall of at least 69 fighters in 2017. Options range from accelerating F-35C procurement to extending production of the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
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