U.S defense such as Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps have acquired a large number of F-22 stealth fighters over the years. The buying was so vigorous that the U.S air force now boasts of being the largest fleet of fifth generation fighter jets owner. But the heavy buying of F-22 has left F-35 in a stale state. The F-35 of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) is still awaiting purchase and is present in large number. However, the U.S Air Force isn’t willing to buy F-35. One wonders why because F-35 plane in essence is a stealth fighter jet.
Perhaps the Air Force of U.S has had enough of stealth jets? Perhaps there is excess of stealth fighter jets? No, that’s not the actual reason. The F-35 is a stealth jet but only when it is half loaded. Otherwise, if the plane is loaded with artillery or any weight for that matter, beyond a certain degree, then the plane’s silhouette is formed in the air and can be easily spotted. This makes the plane vulnerable. The reluctance to buy F-35 on the Air Force’s part is understandable. However, what about the manufacturer now?
Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) will suffer huge losses if these jets go unsold. The company can’t afford to let them rust in the warehouse. Maybe the company can bring certain modifications in order to ensure its stealth and make it more effective and discreet. Or as an alternative, Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) can sell them to Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) for a certain price. Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) can modify these planes if Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) can’t afford to. The point is that Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) must look for a buyer unless it wants to lose billions on this project.
The Naval chief of U.S has stated that the stealth is way too overrated and is not worth trillions of dollars expense. Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) is a commercial company and the company will incur losses, billions and trillions of dollars if the company can’t find any buyers for this fleet. The company can’t expect any compensation from the U.S military, so it will have to find an alternative to roll out these jets.
Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) can show the significance of these planes to the military but that will take time. Unless it finds a buyer for these planes, it will incur significant losses in revenue; also the investors will start to nag. It’s a volatile situation for Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) where it has to make a quick decision because it’s not just a question of a single jet or two but a whole fleet worth trillion dollars.
Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) can sell them for a small price but then again the losses will be daunting for the company to cope with. Let’s hope Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) can find a way to get out of this daunting fiasco and hopefully find a market for the fleet and earn profit, rather than losses, which by the way, is more likely and eventually imminent.
