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Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan

The F-35 May Never Be Ready for Combat - Testing Report Contradicts Air Force Leadership’s Rosy Pronouncements

on Wed, 09/14/2016 - 14:56

By Mandy Smithberger*

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program is the most expensive procurement program in Pentagon history. It’s been plagued by schedule delays, gross cost overruns, and a slew of underwhelming performance reviews. Last month the Air Force declared its variant “ready for combat,” and most press reports lauded this as a signal that the program had turned a corner. But a memo issued from the Pentagon’s top testing official, based largely upon the Air Force’s own test data, showed that the Air Force’s declaration was wildly premature.

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