Lockheed Martin CEO promises to cut cost of F-35

Lockheed Martin’s CEO on Friday said she gave President-elect Donald Trump a “personal commitment” to reduce the price of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

“I had a very good conversation with President-elect Trump this afternoon and assured him that I’ve heard his message loud and clear about reducing the cost of the F-35,” Marillyn Hewson said in a statement.

“I gave him my personal commitment to drive the cost down aggressively,” she added.

LM CEO just had a good conversation with @RealDonaldTrump… she personally committed to drive down the cost of the F-35! pic.twitter.com/K2aK7pW07f

— Lockheed Martin (@LockheedMartin) December 23, 2016

Trump has been pressuring Lockheed Martin to lower the “tremendous cost” of the aircraft and pinned the company against Boeing in a tweet on Thursday.

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“Based on the tremendous cost and cost overruns of the Lockheed Martin F-35, I have asked Boeing to price-out a comparable F-18 Super Hornet!” the president-elect tweeted.

Based on the tremendous cost and cost overruns of the Lockheed Martin F-35, I have asked Boeing to price-out a comparable F-18 Super Hornet!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 22, 2016

Immediately following the tweet, the Lockheed Martin shares fell by approximately 2 percent, while Boeing shares went up by 0.5 percent, according to CNBC.

Trump discussed the F-35 program with Hewson on Wednesday, promising to decrease the cost of the aircraft.

“It’s a dance. It’s a little bit of a dance, but we’re gonna get the cost down, and we’re gonna get it down beautifully. I think we’re looking to cut a tremendous amount of money,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., afterwards.

“I know that President-elect Trump wants the very best capability for our military at the lowest cost for taxpayers, and we’re ready to deliver!” Hewson said in her statement.

The Pentagon’s F-35 program is its most expensive project in history, with an estimated cost of nearly $400 billion for 2,457 planes.