Two-thirds of the American fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II fighters are unable to perform their tasks - for example, to take to the air-due to constant problems with both the power plant and the airframe. In addition, the operation of the aircraft was four times more expensive than the combat F-16.
"Currently, the F-35 fleet's combat readiness level is 36 percent, and we are aiming to raise this figure to 50 percent," Ellen Lord, the Pentagon's deputy head of procurement and support, quotes MilitaryWatch. Two years ago, then-US Secretary of Defense James Mattis set the task for the US Air Force to bring the Lightning II's combat readiness level to 80 percent. Lord explained the failure of the program by constant problems with both the aircraft's engine and its airframe. In particular, the outer layers of the skin, which are responsible for low radar visibility, are constantly peeling off.
Recently, another US Secretary of Defense, Christopher Miller, spoke very clearly about the fighter, calling it "a piece of... ""We created a monster," Miller said.
"The F-35 is a textbook example of the country's broken military procurement system," said John McCain, the former head of the Senate Defense Committee. - A record-breaking program for its inefficiency has become a scandal and a tragedy in terms of cost, schedule and productivity.
The aircraft production program is several years behind schedule, its "childhood illnesses" have not been eliminated in 15 years of testing, and the cost of a Lightning II flight hour is 31 thousand dollars, despite the fact that the fighter was conceived as a budget version of the fabulously expensive F-22. For comparison, the operation of the F-16 costs 7700 dollars per hour.
Anton Valagin