Lockheed Cost Overruns on Early F-35s May Be as Much as 15%

Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Pentagon’ most expensive weapons program, may face cost overruns of as much as 15 percent on early production models, U.S. Vice Admiral David Venlet said.

The plane’s expense may exceed the contracted target cost by $964 million in the worst-case scenario, Venlet said in an April 28 interview in Washington. The overrun is calculated on $6.43 billion in aircraft and engine costs for 28 planes, according to F-35 program data. The low end of the overrun estimate is 11 percent, or $707 million, he said.