Pentagon Tester: F-35 Still Has Problems

Air Force F-35s fly in formation over Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Photo: Air Force

Bloomberg: Lockheed’s F-35 Still Falls Short, Pentagon’s Tester Says

* Fighter is ‘on a path toward failing to deliver,’ Gilmore says
* Memo came a week after Air Force declared its version ready

A week after the Air Force declared its version of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 jet ready for limited combat operations, the Pentagon’s top tester warned that the U.S. military’s costliest weapons program is still riddled with deficiencies.

“In fact the program is actually not on a path toward success but instead on a path toward failing to deliver” the aircraft’s full capabilities, “for which the Department is paying almost $400 billion by the scheduled end” of its development in 2018, Michael Gilmore, the Defense Department’s director of operational testing, said in an Aug. 9 memo obtained by Bloomberg News.

“Achieving full combat capability with the Joint Strike Fighter is at substantial risk” of not occurring before development is supposed to end and realistic combat testing begins, he said of the F-35.

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WNU Editor: The U.S. Air Force is singing a different tune .... Air Force Calls Lockheed’s F-35 Jet Ready for Limited Combat (Bloomberg)

More News On Problems With The F-35

Pentagon's top weapons tester doubts F-35A capabilities -- Flight Global
F-35 still riddled with deficiencies says Pentagon’s top test official -- Ottawa Citizen
Pentagon Tester Says F-35 ‘Not On A Path Toward Success’ -- Daily Caller
Pentagon Tester: F-35 Still Has Serious Problems -- Popular Mechanics