Congress Is Finally Responding To The F-35 Fighter Jet's Escalating Costs

F-35 fighter jets fly over Edwards Air Force Base. The cost per plane is about $161 million but it's expected to keep rising. (Darin Russell, Lockheed Martin / December 10, 2011)

F-35 Fighter Jet's Escalating Costs Are On Washington's Radar -- L.A. Times

The weapons program, whose price tag has nearly doubled to about $400 billion since 2001, is flying into a fierce budget battle in Congress. It's also taking flak from allies that are helping foot the bill.

The radar-evading F-35 fighter jet, a nearly $400-billion weapons program under development for more than a decade, is facing its worst turbulence since Washington decided to buy it in 2001 — when it was billed as the most affordable, lethal and survivable military aircraft ever built for the U.S. and its allies.

At a time when federal spending is under a microscope, the plan to develop and build 2,443 airplanes is hundreds of billions of dollars over budget. The F-35, known as the Joint Strike Fighter, has been delayed by glitches in its onboard computer systems, cracks in structural components and troubles with its electrical system.

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My Comment: Congress is years late in responding to this disaster .... but .... at least they are finally responding.