U.S. Navy to proceed with multiyear F/A-18 purchase

Everybody loves a good sale on big ticket items: cars, 3-D TV's, airfare.  And when it's an unbelievable too good to pass up deal, chances are you're opening up your wallet to make the purchase.  So when the U.S. Navy was able to wrangle a 10% price cut from Boeing for their F/A-18 Fighter plane, the taxpayers' collective wallets were effectively opened up to proceed with a multi-year deal for 124 of this sophisticated fighter jet.  The contract is worth about $5.3 billion, with the price per plane at around $50 million, well short of the $57 million sticker price.  The duration of the contract will be from 2010-2013, with an option for a 5th year.  Will there be buyer's remorse afterwards?  Not so much for the folks at Boeing's F/A-18 production line in St. Louis, which would now remain open through 2013 if the purchase is approved by Congress.  It also provides a fallback option for the U.S. Navy in case problems arise with their brand new toy, the F-35 Lightning II (built by Lockheed Martin), which is expected to replace the Navy's fleet of older F/A-18's and other jets.  I wonder if Boeing published a coupon in the local Sunday newspaper for 10% off on their F/A-18 fighter...

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