The U.S. Air Force Just Admitted The F-35 Stealth Fighter Has Failed

[soryang]

Forbes David Axe
Feb 23

...Fifteen years after the F-35’s first flight, the Air Force has just 250 of the jets. Now the service is signaling possible cuts to the program. It’s not for no reason that Brown has begun characterizing the F-35 as a boutique, high-end fighter in the class of the F-22. The Air Force ended F-22 production after completing just 195 copies.

“The F-35 is approaching a crossroads,” Grazier said...

...“If we’re going to pull the trigger on a new fighter, now’s probably the time,” Grazier said. The Air Force could end F-35 production after just a few hundred examples and redirect tens of billions of dollars to a new fighter program...

More:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2021/02/23/the-us-air-force-just-admitted-the-f-35-stealth-fighter-has-failed/?sh=65f0969b1b16&utm_source=ForbesMainTwitter&utm_campaign=socialflowForbesMainTwitter&utm_medium=social

This article is worth a look.

[Brush Bunny]

1. Yah,well some well connected

Rethugs made out like bandits on this one once again. Boondoggle!!!

[marble falls]

2. Its failed every inch of the way since Reagan.

[msongs]

3. what prominent vermont politician is gonna have huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge sad if its cancelled nt

[ret5hd]

4. Gloat much?

[msongs]

5. makes more $$available for things he wants that are actually good for the country nt

[ret5hd]

7. Yeaaahhh...but that's really not what your reply was about.

[Abnredleg]

6. It's technically a great aircraft

It's doing well on deployment and is revolutionizing how we fight. But there was no way we were going to replace all our F16s with F35 due to cost so, as Forbes points out, it is a failure. That's why the Navy has ordered more F18s, and the USAF has reopened the F15 line. They're old aircraft, but with new avionics they are nearly as capable as the F35,particularly when armed with stealth weapons. The F35 will be needed for peer adversaries for first day operations, while the remaining fleet will handle other operations. The military is working on unmanned combat aircraft so the F35 may be the last manned fighter we design.

Don't count on big savings, however, because they're just diverting funds to different aircraft.