It Could Be Years Before The F-35 Is Ready For Combat

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Brian West watches an Air Force F-35 Lightning II joist strike fighter aircraft approach for the first time July 14, 2011, at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (U.S. Air Force photo by Samuel King Jr.)

David Axe, Daily Beast: It Could Be Years Before Billion-Dollar War Toy F-35 Is Ready for Combat

Don’t get too excited about the U.S. Air Force possibly declaring the long-delayed F-35 fighter jet ready for combat—if history is any guide, it won’t be sent into a fight for years.
The U.S. Air Force could declare its new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter stealth jet combat-ready as early as Monday.

The so-called initial operational capability announcement means the F-35—the Pentagon’s latest radar-evading warplane and the product of history’s most expensive weapons program—can, in theory, deploy overseas to bomb ISIS or deter Russia or China.

“We have achieved all our milestones,” Lt. Col. Steven Anderson, an officer with the Air Force’s Utah-based 388th Wing, set to be the flying branch’s first operational F-35 unit—told Air Force magazine, a trade publication.

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WNU Editor: The US Air Force are creating some interesting explanations .... F-35 is so Stealthy it "Produced Training Challenges" (Phillip Swarts, Air Force Times) .... while the US Marines are pumping their own version on the effectiveness of the F-35 .... F-35B Tactics Evolving As Pilots’ Understanding Of Technology Matures (USNI News).