Trump blasts F-35 fighter jet programme cost as 'out of control'

WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump on Monday blasted the F-35 stealth fighter, saying the cost is too high for the aircraft, said to be the most expensive military weapon systems in history.

"The F-35 program and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th," Trump said on Twitter, as Defense Secretary Ash Carter was in Israel to celebrate delivery of the country's first two of the Lockheed Martin fighters.

The F-35 program and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2016

The US aerospace company has a $1.5 trillion contract through 2070 for the latest generation of the fighter jets, at a cost of about $100 million each.

The US Air Force declared the fighter "battle ready," in August, after reports of cost overruns and delays.

Lockeed Martin stock was down 2.5 per cent in pre-market trading.

Trump has frequently turned to Twitter to vent his outrage from anything from critiques of Saturday Night Live, a weekly comedy-variety television show, to attacking Boeing for the cost of designing a new version of Air Force One, the presidential plane.