via Bloomberg
Efforts to improve the reliability of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 are “stagnant,” undercut by problems such as aircraft sitting idle over the last year awaiting spare parts from the contractor, according to the Pentagon’s testing office.-------------
The availability of the fighter jet for missions when needed -- a key metric -- remains “around 50 percent, a condition that has existed with no significant improvement since October 2014, despite the increasing number of aircraft,” Robert Behler, the Defense Department’s new director of operational testing, said in an annual report delivered Tuesday to senior Pentagon leaders and congressional committees.
The F-35 section, obtained by Bloomberg News, outlined the status of the costliest U.S. weapons system as it’s scheduled to end its 16-year-old development phase this year. Starting in September, the program is scheduled to proceed to intense combat testing that’s likely to take a year, an exercise that’s at least 12 months late already. Combat testing is necessary before the plane is approved for full-rate production -- the most profitable phase for Lockheed.
By the end of testing designed to demonstrate that the F-35 is operationally effective and suitable for its missions more than 600 aircraft already will have been built. That’s about 25 percent of a planned 2,456 U.S. jets; 265 have been delivered to date.Story here.
Amazing isn't it.
The Pentagon is pressing ahead with this program despite the fact that so many problems still remain.
Even worse?
Despite the idiocy of declaring the plans IOC, and combat testing yet to occur we know that they're building nothing but mistake jets. And before that testing is over the Pentagon would have bought 1/4 of the programmed buy before they have the problems solved...if they can be solved.
It's obvious that they're running on pure religious faith.
Despite evidence to the contrary they're pressing ahead on the BELIEF that somehow they can salvage this program and have an effective fighter that delivers as promised.
I believe in God, not Lockheed Martin. Unless there is divine intervention we're looking at a procurement program that could endanger the security of the nation.
Faith, Vanity or Arrogance. It really doesn't matter at this point. The window to fix this thing and reorient is rapidly closing. Hopefully common sense will prevail.
The F-35 cult needs to be burned at the stake to keep the disease from spreading.
