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Trump asks Boeing to price out a comparable jet to compete with F-35 — and Lockheed Martin's stock tanked

WASHINGTON, DC — In response to a series of cost overruns and other development issues for the F-35 fighter jet, President-elect Donald Trump said on Thursday he has asked Boeing to "price-out a comparable F-18 Super Hornet."

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Trump's request — announced via tweet — came a day after meeting separately with the CEOs from Lockheed Martin and Boeing to discuss bringing the "costs down" on the F-35 fifth-generation stealth jet and the next fleet of presidential aircraft.

Boeing's response — also announced via tweet — said it accepted the invitation to work with the Trump administration to "

On December 12, Trump said the cost for Lockheed Martin's fifth-generation stealth F-35 Lightning II jet was "out of control." The message sent Lockheed Martin's stock down from $251 at the opening bell to $245.50, before it rebounded to a little more than $253 a share. Similarly on Thursday, shares of Lockheed Martin fell 2.0% to $247.75 after hours

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Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II, valued at an acquisition cost of $379 billion, has become one of the most challenged programs in the history of the Department of Defense. It has experienced setbacks that include faulty ejection seats, software delays, and helmet-display issues.

The suggested Boeing

All of the fighters are equipped with radar-evading stealth, supersonic speed, and "the most powerful and comprehensive integrated sensor package of any fighter aircraft in history," Jeff Babione, the head of Lockheed Martin's F-35 program, said in a statement.

In other words, the F-35 gives pilots the ability to see but not be seen.

What's more, unlike any other fielded fighter jet, the F-35 can share what it sees in the battle space with counterparts, which creates a "family of systems."

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"Fifth-generation technology, it's no longer about a platform. It's about a family of systems, and it's about a network, and that's what gives us an asymmetric advantage," Gen. David Goldfein, the Air Force chief of staff, said during aPentagon briefing.

Elaborating on the advantages, US Air Force Brig. Gen. Scott Pleus, the director of the F-35 integration office, said the aircraft was "one our adversaries should fear."

"In terms of lethality and survivability, the aircraft is absolutely head and shoulders above our legacy fleet of fighters currently fielded," said Pleus, an F-35A pilot and former command pilot with more than 2,300 flying hours.

Earlier this week, the F-35 Joint Program Office released the finalized price for the most recent production contract for the fifth-generation jet.

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After a little more than 14 months of negotiations between the Department of Defense and Lockheed Martin,

  • 42 F-35A model aircraft: $102.1 million a jet
  • 13 F-35B model aircraft: $131.6 million a jet
  • 2 F-35C model aircraft: $132.2 million a jet

By comparison, in the previous contract, LRIP-8,

"So they cut their production in half and as a result of that when you do an economies of scale in one direction it hurts you in the other direction. Having said that, I fully

And by "significantly" Bogdan added that he believes

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