Aaron Mehta writes the government of Israel ordered a first set of Lockheed-built conventional takeoff and landing fighters four years ago through the Defense Department‘s foreign military sales program.
Israel and other U.S. partner nations are also set to receive F35A planes under an eight production lot agreement between DoD and Lockheed, according to the report.
Mehta reports defense and industry executives believe increasing the level of production could help reduce the fighter program’s costs.
Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, head of the F-35 Joint Program Office, estimates that 80 cents for each dollar of potential aircraft savings arise from “economies of scale, ” according to Mehta’s article.