USAF, US NAVY to Lose 17 F-35s and other equipment in FY 2016 Under Automatic Pentagon Cuts

The Pentagon will cut 17 of the 343 F-35 fighters it planned to buy from Lockheed Martin in fiscal 2016 through 2019 unless Congress repeals automatic budget cuts.
The move would save about $1.7 billion from $45.5 billion in planned spending for the F-35, the costliest U.S. weapons program. The report spells out an array of cuts in other projected purchases, from air-to-air missiles made by Raytheon to aerial refueling tankers from Boeing.
The military service chiefs have been pressing Congress to avert the process called sequestration, which is scheduled to take full effect again in fiscal 2016 after two years of temporary relief.
The cuts in F-35 funding would pare 15 planes from the Air Force’s version and two from the Navy’s.
Sikorsky also would lose 61 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters of 410 planned through 2019.
Boeing also would lose five KC-46 refueling tankers through 2019. The Air Force would buy 64 aircraft instead of 69.
Planned orders for refurbished AH-64 Apache attack helicopters would drop by 67 to 192.
Quantities of Boeing P-8 , would be cut to 50 from 56 as the Navy.
Delivery of the second carrier in the class, the John K. Kennedy, would be delayed to 2024 from 2022.
bloomberg