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JSF Is the Right Model for Tranatlantic Cooperation
The Joint Strike Fighter model should replace the traditional offset approach in international defense cooperation.
The JSF, not offsets, is the right model for transatlantic cooperation, argue top Lockheed Martin representatives.
But the aerospace company's leadership is walking a fine line in making that case and, in parallel, is trying to moderate legislative provisions being considered in Congress that could make transatlantic defense cooperation take a turn for the worse.
Concerted lobbying last year caused Congress to abandon strengthened Buy America provisions. But the House of Representatives' influential armed services panel is trying again, this time applying tighter against industries based in countries with offset demands. It has again raised concerns in and outside the U.S. that transatlantic defense cooperation is in a death spiral.
Offsets have "never been our preference," says Lockheed Martin COO and President Robert Stevens. However, he quickly adds the company will execute offset requirements it is handed, and that domestically it is telling lawmakers those rules don't always undermine U.S. employment-the House member's main concern.
But the company has to be judicious in its lobbying efforts. The main advocate of the legislative changes, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), also is one of the staunchest supporters of major Lockheed Martin and other defense programs.
A better model than using offsets is the F-35 JSF, argues Stevens, who is slated to become Lockheed's CEO in the near future. International defense relations should "evolve to a best value approach," he contends.
Several JSF partners have voiced unhappiness about the approach. Stevens concedes "the process can be improved," but notes that anyone who would have thought a complex program such as JSF wouldn't face such hurdles is naive. Workshare and technology transfer concerns have headed the list of complaints from non-U.S. program partners.
Dain Hancock, president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautical, adds that
three years into the F-35 development program, there have been no
instances in which work has had to be slowed because technology
transfer issues weren't resolved. He notes that the government has
established a detailed technology release roadmap to ensure such
delays don't occur. In fact, Stevens adds, such a detailed roadmap
is a model other cooperative efforts should embrace.
-Robert Wall
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