Donald Trump suggests substituting F-35 combat jet with Boeing

President-elect Donald Trump has suggesting he could substitute the Lockheed Martin F-35 combat jet with a Boeing.

US president-elect Donald Trump suggests he could use a Boeing attack jet as a substitute for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike.

President-elect Donald Trump has continued his pressure on the US defence sector by suggesting he could use a Boeing attack jet as a substitute for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter that Australia has committed to at a cost of more than $15 billion.

“Based on the tremendous cost and cost overruns of the Lockheed Martin F-35, I have asked Boeing to price-out a comparable F/A-18 Super Hornet!” Mr Trump said in a tweet, referring to a Boeing jet that has long been used by the navy and some overseas allies.

The Pentagon plans to ­acquire more than 2400 of the F-35 combat fighters to replace much of its combat fleet in what is by far its costliest program, and Mr Trump has singled it out for criticism after a legacy of delays and design problems.

It is unusual for a president or a president-elect to publicly negotiate government procurement spending on weapons programs. Mr Trump’s approach of negotiating via Twitter has shaken defence contractors and the complex defence bidding and procurement process.

Pentagon officials have long said the two planes served very different roles, with the F-35 providing more radar-evading features and serving as an airborne command post.

Variants of the F/A-18 are used as attack jets and to provide electronic countermeasures to protect US forces.