Just six days ago, this is what Kendall said about the F-35 at the Singapore Air Show:
“You have to look at weapons on their value to the war fighter and a system like the F-35, which is a high-cost system comparatively, is a very high-value system,” he said. “The F-35 remains, despite its relatively high cost, a premier, number-one priority conventional warfare program for us, so we’re going to continue that under almost any budget level I would imagine that we would have to live with.”
Now trimming a purchase by eight planes from last year’s planned levels is not remarkable except when it’s such a tough budget time, the administration’s commitment to the aircraft is so robust and it’s, well, the most expensive conventional weapons system ever. Any appearance of a lack of American commitment to the plane, any sign that the politically sensitive cost per plane may increase and some of our European allies may back further away. And if they back away and buy fewer planes, then the costs per plane go up even more and the cycle can begin to turn into the dreaded death spiral.
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