July 30, 2014
The wrong stuff: The F-35 vs. what U.S. airpower really needs in the future
The fact that the F-35 Lightning II isn’t making an appearance at the Farnborough International Airshow is the latest in a never-ending string of disappointments that have marked the plane’s controversial history. From past challenges with tail hooks and tires to engine cracks and engine fires, life has never been easy for the F-35, which has even had to confront an embarrassing vulnerability to its namesake weather phenomenon.
Such setbacks might be acceptable — and expected — in a nascent experimental program, but the F-35 has already been in production for 8 years. Indeed, largely due to concurrent testing and production, an approach that Under Secretary of Defense for AT&L Frank Kendall memorably referred to as "acquisition malpractice" (and one that hopefully will not be replicated any time soon), DOD will spend $1.65 billion merely to bring early-production jets up to standard. Total program acquisition costs will reach $398.6 billion, with 55-year life-cycle costs surpassing the stratospheric $1 trillion mark, thus solidifying the F-35’s legacy as the most expensive weapons program in history.
Read the full post on Foreign Policy's Best Defense blog.
More from CNAS
-
The Siren Song: Technology, JADC2, and the Future of War
Winning future wars will not be about maintaining information advantage but rather prevailing when neither side has the advantage. And that is not a war that can be won by new...
By Andrew Metrick
-
Sharper: Integrated Deterrence
The belated 2022 National Defense Strategy—released in October of last year—identified integrated deterrence as the cornerstone of the strategy. Integrated deterrence calls fo...
By Anna Pederson & Michael Akopian
-
What Is the Purpose of the American “Brigade 101” Conducting Military Exercises in Romania?
Michael Akopian, Research Assistant at the Center for a New American Security joined Now Asharq to discuss the purpose of U.S. Military exercises in Romania. Listen to the f...
By Michael Akopian
-
Taiwan: Why the US & China are on collision course for war
In this special analysis, DW's Richard Walker uncovers the roots of the dispute over Taiwan, in part 1 tracing how the diplomatic breakthroughs of the 1970s between the US and...
By Michèle Flournoy