The Roller-coaster development of the F-35

When the JSF (Joint Strike Fighter Programme) started in 1993 it's goals was to create an advanced Fifth Generation fighter that could be exported to other NATO partners and United States allies (South Korea and Israel). After a tough competition the Lockheed F-35 beat the Boeing X-32. The Department of Defence stating that the VTOL system in the F-35 was more advanced and the engine in the X-32 was subject to poor reliability and overheating.


The F-35 is also meant to cut down on logistics and supplies, the aircraft is designed for coalition warfare. Meaning that various nations can share weapons and various other supplies to cut down maintenance costs during combat..


 "It greatly simplifies logistics, training and doctrine for coalition warfighting." - Richard Aboulafia


Although more then a decade after the Joint Strike Fighter Programme was formed and around eight years after development work on the F-35 has begun little progress seems to have been made. Currently only 13 prototypes of this aircraft exist and the programme has encountered countless set-backs and issues with the aircraft. United States Defence Secretary has even been quoted on stating that if the STOVL (Short-Take-Off and Landing) version of the F-35 could face cancellation. 

"if we cannot fix this variant during this time frame and get it back on track in terms of performance, cost and schedule, then I believe it should be cancelled." - United States Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

"The culture of endless money that has taken hold must be replaced by a culture of restraint," - Robert Gates 

Another issue with the current F-35 programme is the fact that two different engines are being developed for the aircraft. Rolls Royce and General electric are currently being paid to develop a new engine for the F-35 in case the initial Pratt & Whitney engines designed for the aircraft are not up to par. Adding further cost and time on to the F-35 programme. Private military analysts have even called the F-35 programme a bottomless money pit. 

The size differences of aircraft being developed and in use in the USAF

"The incredibly unfortunate phrase 'too big to fail' applies to this aircraft more than any other defense program," - Richard Aboulafia

"It's difficult to think of a civil or military program in the past decade that hasn't experienced similar delays and cost overruns." -  Richard Aboulafia

This comes after previous failures of the F-35 when the aft bulkhead of the F-35 developed cracks after 1,500 hours of durability testing, This is less than one-tenth of the planned fatigue test program, which is designed to prove an 8,000-hour airframe life. The bulkhead in the F-35 was modified in the F-35's weight saving programme switching from the proven forged titanium that is on use on the F-22 to a new aluminium forging process.  

The VTOL system used in the F-35

In 2009 the Department of Defence announced the theft of 1.5 terabytes of data on the F-35 project.  $300 billion dollars of funding down the drain, every system, defense, offense, stealth, everything needed to build one or shoot it down, all gone. nations whose defense capabilities were decades behind the US can now be at par, as the F-35 was estimated to be “air superiority capable” until at least 2040. Data stolen could make production of a comparable aircraft possible in as little as 36 months, particularly with several projects in the offing, Russia/India and in China, each of which are capable of quickly adapting upgraded systems. On top of these current air-defence systems could be easily modified to hunt down and easily take down the F-35, a serious blowback for United States power project across the world.