Updated article on the F-35's 2017
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenth.../#7d6485dc6fc5
Quote:
In April of this year, the Defense Contract Management Agency predicted that Lockheed Martin, prime contractor for the Pentagon's tri-service F-35 joint strike fighter, would not be able to meet a goal of delivering 66 of the aircraft in 2017. Delivering 66 would represent a 43% increase over the program's performance in 2016, and based on past performance the agency figured Lockheed would fall short by nine planes.
Eight months later, on December 15, Lockheed Martin delivered the 66th plane -- for the umpteenth time confounding critics of the Pentagon's biggest weapons program. Although the contracting agency managed to find an arcane reason why this wasn't really good news, the fact of the matter is that the F-35 program is going gangbusters. Developmental testing is approaching completion after 8,000 flights without a single major mishap, and all three variants of the plane are meeting their performance specifications.
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he production goal for next year is over 90 fighters, and that number will grow to 160 five years later. In addition to the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, 11 other countries have signed up to buy the F-35, and half a dozen more are signaling interest. One reason is that the price of the most common variant, the Air Force's F-35A, is projected to fall to $80 million per plane by 2020, making it no more expensive than legacy fighters that lack the F-35's advanced technology (the latest Boeing 787 Dreamliner lists for $300 million).
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If this article is accurate and the F-35 which is being delivered and activated by the American's, Israel and other nations and Lockheed gets it to $80 million dollars it will be probably one of the more dominant platforms for purchase for the next 30 or so years.
Nasdax article on the F-35 and Lockheed Martin
http://www.nasdaq.com/article/where-...f-now-cm896067