JSF: la chute continue, de plus en plus dure

JSF : la chute continue, de plus en plus dure

Plusieurs journaux US annoncent que le secrétaire à la défense Robert Gates doit présenter aujourd’hui, devant le nouveau Congrès, des réductions des dépenses du Pentagone allant au devant des projets de la majorité des parlementaires. L’initiative est faite pour tenter de contenir de interventions parlementaires trop radicales et porterait sur $100 milliards de réduction pour les 5 prochaines années, ce qui implique effectivement une certaine coordination avec les projets du chef de la majorité républicaine à la Chambre Eric Cantor..

D’un particulier intérêt pour nous, signalons le fait que le JSF (F-35) est sur la liste des programmes touchés par cette réduction. La production et le rythme des essais du programme vont être ralentis. Le Wall Street Journal, qui annonce la décision de Gates, consacre ce passage au JSF (le 6 janvier 2010) :

«Also targeted for trims: the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, a stealthy, supersonic fighter designed by Lockheed Martin Corp. that is supposed to replace a wide range of aircraft now in service with the both U.S. and allies. The F-35, the costliest procurement project in the department's history, already has seen delays and cost overruns.

»Defense insiders expect the F-35's production might be slowed or its numbers reduced. Defense analyst Jim McAleese said the Pentagon may cut the production rate for the aircraft, which is being developed in parallel with flight testing. A planned doubling of production quantities in 2013, he said, “has never been credible.”»

Le Fort Worth Star Telegram, sous la plume de Bob Cox, est beaucoup plus disert sur le sujet. Le quotidien de la ville où Lockheed Martin a ses usines de production du JSF est particulièrement bien informé, et Bob Cox a toujours figuré comme un journaliste spécialisé dans ce programme, et plutôt à compter parmi ses critiques. (Dans le Fort Worth Star Telegram, le 5 janvier 2010.)

«Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans to cut orders for the F-35 joint strike fighter over the next three to five years as part of broader plan to reduce Pentagon spending by $100 billion, analysts say. Gates will brief Congress today on a five-year spending plan for the Defense Department, including yet another restructuring of the F-35 program to compensate for repeated delays in development and testing. […]

»The Pentagon's commitment to the F-35 hasn't lessened, but Gates has to find a way to pay for the delays and higher costs, said Loren Thompson, consultant to defense contractors and chief operating officer of the Lexington Institute think tank. “The most likely outcome is a cut in the rate of purchases,” Thompson said.

»“The problem with the F-35 is it is a program that can't go away. All the services are wedded to this,” said Chris Hellman, policy analyst with the National Priorities Project, a policy group that advocates defense cuts to help trim deficits.

»The Pentagon had planned to buy 319 jets between 2012 and 2015 in an aggressive production increase aimed to hold down costs. One analyst speculated that number could be cut by at least 50 planes.

»The effect on Lockheed's operations in Fort Worth, where the planes are being built, could be greater since more than 200 foreign orders were expected during the same period, and those have not yet begun to materialize due to delays and cost increases. About 7,000 people are working on the F-35 program at Lockheed, as well as thousands more at subcontractors in the U.S. and several foreign countries…»

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