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Can't say I didn't see this one coming. I've been in aerospace engineering for 34 yrs., and a student of military aircraft from way before then. When I first heard of the plans for the F-35 I called B$ and predicted eventual failure.
You cannot take one design and make it everything to all services. It becomes the proverbial horse designed by a committie, that turns into a camel. This was tried back by that Kennedy wunderkind McNamara with the TFX that went on to become the F-111. He was convinced that the Air Force and Navy could use a common design that would handle air-superiority, fleet defense, bombing, supersonic flight, with good low-speed capabilities for carrier landings.
Needless to say it was a very expensive flop.
The Pentagon is about to waste $1.5 trillion, 38% of entire defense budget for a "virtual flying piano". That may sound preposterous, and it is. Unfortunately, it is also true.
Foreign Policy Magazine discusses the sad saga of The Jet That Ate the Pentagon.
This month, we learned that the Pentagon has increased the price tag for the F-35 by another $289 million -- just the latest in a long string of cost increases -- and that the program is expected to account for a whopping 38 percent of Pentagon procurement for defense programs, assuming its cost will grow no...
The Air Force wasn't exactly in love with it either. It definitely couldn't meet the needs of an air-superiority fighter (agile dog-fighter). As a medium bomber it was okay, but not great.
To add insult to injury, the pompous McNamara sent a squadron of USAF F-111's to Viet Nam long before the design was ready for operations and some of them immediately got shot down behind enemy lines. With all our latest technology the Russians had a field day!
It seems our politicians and Pentagon leaders can't seem to learn from history. For them there are few if any consequences. But for Americans, the cost in taxpayer dollars and serious breaches in our national security are scary and unecessary.