The Pentagon Has An Emergency Plan In The Event That The F-35 Program Is A Flop

F-35 and F-22. Photo from Military Photos And Photoshops

Dave Majumdar, National Interest: The Pentagon's Emergency Plan If the F-35 Doesn't Work

The United States government has sunk billions into the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The program is set to cost taxpayers almost $400 billion to develop and build 2,443 of the stealthy new jets for the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.

To ensure that the program is all but unkillable, Lockheed spread the work on the program around the country and around the globe. Indeed, the program brags about its economic impact. “In the U.S. alone, the F-35 program supports direct and indirect jobs for 129,000 people and provides work for more than 1,200 suppliers in 45 states and Puerto Rico,” reads Lockheed’s F-35 website. “The F-35 does more than just elevate international security—it also strengthens the global economy by providing jobs, industrial partnerships and technology benefits to people and companies across the world. In the years ahead, the F-35 program will create more jobs than any other Department of Defense initiative this decade.”

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WNU Editor: It has been a few years now, but I do recall doing a post on the F-22 production line .... before it was closed down it was photographed, the components that used and needed catalogued, and all blueprints and manuals stored. So yes .... if the F-35 fighter jet is a flop and the F-22 line needs to be re-started .... it can be done but the costs would be enormous, and the avionics will need to be modernized.