Donald Trump's attacks on F-35 fighter jet costs shed light on the ballooning expense and delays of big military programs, but experts say there are limits to what he will be able to do as president to fix them.
Mr. Trump on Monday said the stealthy F-35 jet's costs were "out of control" and that "billions of dollars can and will be saved on military [and other] purchases."
The Pentagon's costliest programs to buy more than 2,400 planes to replace aging combat jets have long been viewed by experts and lawmakers as the most egregious example of cost overruns.
The list of troubled programs that have vexed lawmakers and budget watchdogs range through land, air, sea and space.
The cost of buying the F-35s from Lockheed Martin Corp. has doubled from initial estimates to nearly $ 400 billion, and the planes are still years late. Operating costs bring the bill to above $ 1 trillion.
While the average cost of each F-35 has fallen about 60% since 2012 to around $ 110 million, roughly 80% of planned cost savings are tied to higher production.
The littoral combat ship, a small Navy vessel made separately by Lockheed and Australia's Austal Ltd., repeatedly has broken down and proved vulnerable to attack, even as costs climbed to $ 21 billion over the nearly 20-year life of the program.
The rockets made by Lockheed and Boeing Co. that are used to launch $ 1 billion spy satellites into orbit also have come under fire for their cost and led the Pentagon to pursue alternatives such as those made by Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX.
However, despite Mr. Trump's pledge to address the cost and budget issues, there is a limit to what can be done for programs that are entering service. "There's no doubt there's been bumps in the road on the F-35 development, but that ship has sailed," said Sen. Chris Murphy, (D., Conn.)
There are a number of early-stage programs that Mr. Trump could take aim at with greater scrutiny. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R., Ariz.), for instance, has been pushing the Air Force to disclose the total contract award value for the B-21 Raider, a long-range stealth bomber under development by Northrop Grumman Corp.
Mr. Trump will have to decide what capabilities are essential for the military and address budget logjams in Congress. The Defense Department's annual procurement and research budget has averaged more than $ 160 billion during the past three years and its request could top $ 200 billion by the end of the decade, according to Pentagon planning documents.
However, Pentagon leaders said cost control has improved. Only one big program—a revamp of the GPS led by missile specialist Raytheon Co.—was running more than 25% over budget this year and isn't expected to be operational until 2022, some five years late. The technology proved more challenging than planners and the company expected. Raytheon said it continues to work with the Pentagon to deliver the system on the new timetable and budget.
Not all programs have run over budget, with the Virginia-Class submarines built jointly by General Dynamics Corp. and Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. held up by the Pentagon and lawmakers as an example of the system working.
Military programs are almost always more expensive than what they replace for a variety of reasons. The Pentagon leaders who approve military plans and submit budgets to the White House, as well as their hundreds of contractors, have found it tough to accurately estimate the cost of advanced new weapons and deliver on-time and on-budget. Congress ultimately dictates what is built by approving the annual defense budget, but hasn't managed this on time through the Obama presidency.
The F-35 program run by Lockheed is still widely viewed as highlighting everything that can go wrong. Mr. McCain has called it a "textbook example" of "the broken defense acquisition system."
The Pentagon wanted a single plane that could replace many types of other jets for the Air Force, the Marine Corps and the Navy. It would be stealthy, to avoid enemy radar, and loaded with the latest electronics and weapons. Building three versions that could either take off and land from runways, aircraft carriers or vertically like a helicopter immediately ran into problems. At the same time the Pentagon and its international partners added new expensive capabilities such as a pilot helmet that allowed the aviator to have all-round views using onboard cameras.
Lockheed said Monday that it was ready to work with the new administration on the F-35 and other programs. "It's amazing technology," said Jeff Babione, who heads the F-35 program for Lockheed.
Lockheed shares fell 2.5% to close at $ 253.11 Monday. Mr. Trump's comments triggered falls in most defense stocks, giving back all or part of the post-election gains triggered by investor optimism about higher military spending.
Budget watchdogs said Congress has to accept its share of the blame for Pentagon procurement problems. "Both sides of the aisle have really become dependent on defense-spending as a job-creator," said Mandy Smithberger, a military-procurement expert at the nonpartisan Project On Government Oversight in Washington, D.C.
Congress passed some reforms in its annual defense policy bill this month—which still awaits President Barack Obama's signature.
Procurement experts said Pentagon officials have failed to adequately force bidders into competition with working prototypes before selecting a winner and moving forward with production.
They also said after Mr. Trump's attacks on the cost of existing programs, his bigger challenge will be to decide how advanced—and costly—new programs such as the replacement of U.S. intercontinental nuclear missiles will be.
—Paul Sonne and Ted Mann contributed to this article.
Write to Doug Cameron at doug.cameron@wsj.com and Andrew Tangel at Andrew.Tangel@wsj.com
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