Someone Better Kick The Tires On The F-35

Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 has a projected price tag of $391.2 billion for development and purchase of the fleet, up 68 percent from the projection in 2001, as measured in current dollars. Lockheed Martin Corp. via Bloomberg

F-35 Fighter’s Tires Wear Out Too Soon, Pentagon Finds -- Bloomberg

Tires that wear out too soon are adding to the troubles facing Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT)’s F-35, the Pentagon’s costliest weapons system.

Landing-gear tires made by Dunlop Aircraft Tyres Ltd. for the Marine Corps version of the fighter have “been experiencing an unacceptable wear rate when operating as a conventional aircraft,” according to Joe DellaVedova, spokesman for the Defense Department’s F-35 program office.

He said the tire, which costs about $1,500 apiece, demonstrates “adequate wear” when the aircraft performs short takeoffs and vertical landings intended for amphibious warfare vessels and improvised runways.

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Update: 5th-Generation Fighter, 1st-Generation Tires? -- Defense Tech

My Comment: The F-35 contractors did promise to look for savings .... so why not start by putting cheap tires. Sighhh .... the follies of the F-35 continues.