The $400bn F-35 is 'not on a path to success': Damning test report warns fighter jet is 'running out of time and money'
Fifth-generation fighter has been plagued with issues
$400bnbn development schedule has stretched to 15 years
Weeks ago military bosses claimed it was finally 'combat ready'
By MARK PRIGG FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 16:28 EST, 25 August 2016 | UPDATED: 19:04 EST, 25 August 2016
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has been hailed as the 'most expensive weapon in history,' and with a price tag of $400 billion for 2,457 planes, the fifth-generation fighter has been plagued with issues. But it appeared the tide had finally turned earlier this month when the U.S. Air Force has declared an initial squadron of Lockheed Martin Corp F-35A fighter jets ready for combat.
Now, the Pentagon's director of operational testing has poured cold water on the announcement, slamming the planes readiness.
The Pentagon's director of testing said it is 'not on a path toward success but instead on a path toward failing to deliver' the plane's full combat capabilities on time, according to Bloomberg. The software on the F-35 is being constantly upgraded. In 2017, its 3F software will be rolled out, which will give the the aircraft its full war-fighting capability, including the ability to launch certain types of weapons such as the Small Diameter Bomb.
Other 3F changes, like improved pilot interfaces and displays, will make the plane easier to operate. Michael Gilmore, stated the F-35 is 'actually not on a path toward success but instead on a path toward failing to deliver' the plane's full combat capabilities on time, according to Bloomberg.
Gilmore also said the plane is 'running out of time and money' to address deficiencies. 'Achieving full combat capability with the Joint Strike Fighter is at substantial risk' of not occurring before development is supposed to end and realistic combat testing begins, he said of the F-35. The U.S. Air Force has declared an initial squadron of Lockheed Martin Corp F-35A fighter jets ready for combat, marking a major milestone for a program that has faced cost overruns and delays. However, the most complex software capabilities 'are just being added' and new problems requiring fixes and verification testing 'continue to be discovered at a substantial rate,' Gilmore wrote to Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James; General David Goldfein, the service's chief of staff; and Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's acquisitions chief.
The action is another achievement for the $379 billion program, the Pentagon's largest weapons project. The Air Force's decision follows one by the U.S. Marine Corps in July 2015 declaring a first squadron of F-35s ready for combat. 'The U.S. Air Force decision to make the 15 F-35As ... combat ready sends a simple and powerful message to America's friends and foes alike - the F-35 can do its mission,' the program's chief, Air Force Lieutenant General Chris Bogdan, said in a statement.
Dan Grazier, a fellow of the Project On Government Oversight, said, however, 'This is nothing but a public relations stunt.' The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has been hailed as the 'most expensive weapon in history.' But despite a price tag of $400 billion for 2,457 planes, the fifth-generation fighter has been plagued with issues.
Now, a new report says the craft could finally be battle ready later this year. He added that it would not be possible to know if the F-35 jets were ready for combat until after initial operational testing. 'The program is not doing everything they wanted it to do ... But they're at a point now where it is stabilizing and so it is progress,' said Todd Harrison, a defense analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
Officials say the F-35 will give the U.S. military the ability to detect enemy aircraft and other threats far beyond current ranges, allowing the jets to strike targets and disappear long before they are detected. The U.S. Air Force plans to buy a total of 1,763 F-35A conventional takeoff and landing jets in coming years and will operate the largest F-35 fleet in the world.
Air Force General Herbert Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, said work to upgrade the jet would continue in areas such as software, making the displays more intuitive and boosting the ability to share information between aircraft.
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