Manufacturers of F-35 and Rafale fighter jets reduce production due to logistics problems

Manufacturers of combat aircraft F-35 and Rafale are experiencing problems with the supply of the necessary equipment. For these reasons, Lockheed Martin, which produces the fifth-generation F-35 fighter, will produce only 156 aircraft this year instead of 50.

According to the Military Watch resource, the problems are largely related to the difficulties of updating the software. At the same time, China will increase the production of the J-20 fighter, which is one of the competitors of the F-35, to 80-100 copies. In 2024, the PLA will receive 120 such aircraft, thus overtaking the United States by 2,5 times.



Lockheed Martin Chief Financial Officer Jay Malav noted that massive investments in the supply chain will be required to increase the production of fighter jets to 156 units per year. Also, the source calls a serious shortage of personnel and an insufficient number of qualified personnel in the United States as a production bottleneck, which forces the company to partially transfer production to East Asia.

The weak point of the supply chain was also for the French Rafale fighter. The manufacturing company Dassault Aviation noted that in order to fulfill obligations to customers, it is necessary to increase the pace of assembly of the aircraft. Corruption scandals that accompanied the sale of fighter jets also play a certain negative role.