(Bloomberg) -- Lockheed Martin Corp. showed “marked improvement” by delivering its F-35 jets on time -- and sometimes early -- as the No. 1 defense contractor seeks approval for full-rate production decision by December, according to the Pentagon agency that oversees contracts.
The Defense Contract Management Agency said Lockheed delivered 134 of the fighter jets in 2019, seven more than its contractual requirement for the year and three more than its annual “commitment” to the Pentagon program office.
After years of delays and flawed performance for the costliest U.S. weapons system, full-rate production of the F-35 would be a seal of approval from the Defense Department that the $428 billion program has been fully tested, deemed effective against the highest-level threats and can be produced efficiently.
The early deliveries were offset by 17 planes that were delivered late, according to the DCMA. Still, “in spite of rapid growth in quantities, DCMA is not seeing a commensurate growth in late aircraft,” Mark Woodbury, spokesman for the agency said. He said it’s “encouraged by Lockheed Martin’s continued improvement in the area of aircraft on-time delivery.”
The agency has in-plant inspectors at Lockheed’s primary F-35 facilities and hasn’t been reticent to point out flaws with manufacturing processes and late deliveries. The agency also is a key player in the Pentagon’s decision this year on whether Lockheed is ready to produce defect-free aircraft in a timely manner.
‘Production Errors’
The agency also praised Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed for disclosing to the Pentagon in November that it discovered “production errors” that led to a short halt in deliveries when it was disclosed that fasteners of varying strengths were co-mingled at four locations, including Italy and Israel.
In spite of incomplete testing, Congress continues to accelerate F-35 purchases, adding 11 to the Pentagon’s request in 2016 and in 2017, 20 in fiscal 2018, 15 last year and 20 this year.
“The significant increase in on-time deliveries reflects the growing maturity of the entire F-35 enterprise and our focus on continuous improvement,” Lockheed spokeswoman Carolyn Nelson said in an email. “We’ve grown our workforce, increased material availability, and improved performance processes and work flow.”
3,500 Jets
Still, the program continues in its most rigorous phase of combat testing, a stage that will stretch well into this year. It entered the testing with 917 deficiencies of varying severity.
So far, 458 jets have been deployed out of about 3,500 planned purchases by U.S. and allies from Australia to Poland.
The Pentagon’s top tester, Robert Behler, told a House panel in mid-November that the F-35 continues to fall short of full combat-readiness targets and, despite some progress on reliability, all three versions of the fighter are breaking down “more often than planned.”
Simulation testing remains to be concluded this year against the most advanced air defense threats posed by Russia and China. Pentagon approval for full-rate production, delayed from last month, looms for sometime later this year after the testing is complete.
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