Supply chain issues have hit the Pentagon after Lockheed Martin said it will deliver fewer F-35 fighter jets next year.
The billion dollar defense company based in Maryland said that it has revised its delivery schedule due to pandemic-related production constraints.
According to the Pentagon's F-35 program office, seen by Bloomberg, the company was scheduled to deliver between 158 to 163 of the fighter jets in 2022.
However, in a new released distributed on Monday, the company has projected it will deliver between 151 to 153 jets next year, and a further 156 in 2023 and each year thereafter 'for the foreseeable future'.
Lockheed Martin's statement said that the production revision for lots 12 to 14 'ensures predictability and stability in the production process while recovering the aircraft shortfall realized over the last year during the COVID-19 pandemic.'
According to the announcement, the largest U.S. defence contractor is expected to deliver between 133 to 139 aircraft this year.
Supply chain issues have hit the Pentagon after Lockheed Martin said it will deliver fewer F-35 fighter jets (pictured, file photo) next year
Next month, the U.S. Defense Department is expected to decide on a new schedule for a major milestone in the $398 billion acquisition program - the Pentagon's most expensive - as it is meant to carry out a one-month stimulation exercise.
The exercise is set to test the F-35 against most advanced air defences and aircraft in the possession of foreign advisories, and is a step required to make a decision on full-rate production, Bloomberg reported.
Richard Aboulafia, aviation analyst with Teal Group, told the business news outlet in an email that the revised schedule: 'shows the production constraints and supply chain disruptions resulting from the pandemic, and probably other causes.
'Stalling out at 156 per year' (after 2022) 'isn't terrible, but it isn't the 170-plus we were expecting in the next few years.'
In a July report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on F-35 support a maintenance said that the program planned to deliver 158 aircract deliveries in 2021, as of April.
But the report added that almost all of the F-35s delivered by Lockheed Martin had been late, and noted that
