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Lockheed F-35 Projected Cost May Rise an Additional $51 Billion

April 12 (Bloomberg) -- The cost of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 fighter, the most expensive U.S. weapons program, may rise as much as $51 billion beyond the $328 billion estimate given to Congress April 1, according to a worse-case Pentagon scenario.

The cost per plane would then be $155 million, 91 percent higher than the $81 million projected when the program began in 2002. The program’s total cost, calculated in current dollars, would increase 64 percent to $379 billion.

The Pentagon’s independent cost-analysis office is compiling projections to comply with a law that demands an assessment of any weapons program that exceeds its original projected cost by 50 percent. The Pentagon must also certify to Congress that the program is vital to national security and shouldn’t be canceled.

The lowest projection in the cost group’s fact sheet is the $328 billion stated by the military’s program office. The estimate of $379 billion is the “upper range,” Pentagon spokesman Colonel David Lapan said in an e-mail.

The group’s report won’t be released until its assessment is finished June 1, though the findings to date have been shared informally with some lawmakers.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=aNEbozTah_Kk