SoylentNews

takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Testing Director says the expensive F-35s are not combat-ready, unreliable, and components need redesign [nextbigfuture.com]

Overall fleet-wide monthly availability rates remain around 50 percent, a condition that has existed with no significant improvement since October 2014, despite the increasing number of new aircraft. One notable trend is an increase in the percentage of the fleet that cannot fly while awaiting replacement parts – indicated by the Not Mission Capable due to Supply rate.

[...] Total acquisition costs for Lockheed Martin Corp.'s next-generation fighter may rise about 7 percent to $406.5 billion, according to [bloomberg.com] figures in a document known as a Selected Acquisition Report. That's a reversal after several years of estimates that had declined to $379 billion recently from a previous high of $398.5 billion in early 2014.

$122 billion has been spent on the F35 program up until the end of 2017. $10-15 billion will be spent each year through 2022. This is detailed in a 100 page F-35 spending summary report. [fas.org]

FY17 DOD PROGRAMS: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) [osd.mil]

Related: The F-35 Fighter Plane Is Even More of a Mess Than You Thought [soylentnews.org]
The F-35: A Gold-Plated Turkey [soylentnews.org]
Flawed and Potentially Deadly F-35 Fighters Won't be Ready Before 2019 [soylentnews.org]
Lockheed Martin Negotiating $37 Billion F-35 Deal [soylentnews.org]
Does China's J-20 Rival Other Stealth Fighters? [soylentnews.org]

Original Submission