Federal Drive

Multiyear contract is a big boon to Boeing

The Navy strikes a deal to lump together all the fighter jets it plans to purchase over the next several years into a single large buy, in a victory for aerospa...

Federal News Network Staff

May 18, 2010 9:40 am

< a min read

The Navy told Congress it will save $590 million dollars by entering a multiyear agreement to buy some expensive products, namely 124 new F-18 jets. The multiyear deal is saving 10 percent over conventional, year-by-year contracting. The multiyear contract marks a triumph for Boeing and its F/A-18 Super Hornets, and reportedly, a setback for the Navy’s next fighter jet, Lockheed’s F-35C Lightning II, which has faced heavy criticism for cost overruns and scheduling delays. So how good a deal is this? For analysis we ask Dr. Jacques Gansler, former undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, now at the University of Maryland.