President-elect Donald Trump tweeted Thursday that based on the “tremendous” cost overruns of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program, he had asked the aerospace giant’s competitor, Boeing, to “price-out a comparable F-18 Super Hornet.”
(FOX)- Trump did not go into specific details about his Boeing inquiry, but it does appear to show his willingness to pit two major competitors for lucrative government contracts against each other on a public platform.
His tweet sent shares of Lockheed down 1.9 percent in after-hours trading while Boeing shares rose 0.7 percent.
When reached by FoxNews.com, a Lockheed spokeswoman did not comment on the tweet. Boeing told FoxNews.com in a statement that it is “committed to working with the president elect and his administration to provide the best capability, deliverability and affordability across all Boeing products and services to meet our national security needs.”
Marcus Weisgerber, the vice president of the Pentagon Press Association, tweeted that you cannot compare the two jets. The F/A-18 is cheaper, but unlike the F-35, it is not stealth. He said the Trump move “turns up the heat” on Lockheed which is entering contact negotiations for the next 100 F-35s.