F-35; $1.7 Trillion Dollar Fiasco in 28 Years Turned into 35
The entire F-35 program will cost $1.7 trillion over the life of the aircraft. "Trillion dollars" sounds like a dream... Moreover, this cost was estimated at 1.5 trillion dollars in 2015. The cost of the program has already increased by $183 billion over the projected cost.
Despite dozens of technical problems and delays, strategic concerns, and massive cost overruns that nearly doubled the initial cost estimate, the Pentagon has stuck with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, bringing the total construction cost of 2457 aircraft to nearly $500 billion. The lifetime cost of the aircraft is up to $1.7 trillion. In 2015, this cost was estimated at $400 billion for construction and $1.5 trillion for lifetime cost.
The F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter is no longer known for its unparalleled, yet unrivaled capabilities, but for its insatiable appetite for the dollars invested in it. The F-35's reputation is driven by its endless "appetite for dollars".
One of the reasons why the project was so interesting in the early stages was that many states and participating countries in the US invested significant sums in the aircraft, counting on a share of revenue and jobs from the project. The project was presented to the Allies for the first time as an economically very attractive model of participation partnership, but despite the fact that the project partnership began in 1995 as the JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) and the aircraft made its first flight in 2006, the project has continued to this day with endless setbacks.
This year, an F-35 suffered a serious malfunction in the air and its pilot parachuted out of the plane. The plane disappeared in the air. The wreckage of the plane could not be found. The US government had to ask for the public's help. "We have an F-35 aircraft lost in the air. If anyone sees or hears anything, please let us know."
The wreckage of the plane was found about two hours northeast of Charleston Air Force Base.
"How do you lose an F-35?" asked an American lawmaker. "Why doesn't this plane have a transponder, and if it does, why wasn't it working, and how can we ask the public if we can find our missing jet?" the congressman continued.
A more general and important question can be asked about the F-35 program:
How can you spend so much money on a plane that is not performing as it should?
The most expensive defense project in US history
For a country that spends most of its income on its armed forces and is known to have the most advanced fighting force in the world, this means a lot.
The full value of a single aircraft, such as the one lost in the air, is around $100-130 million, depending on its configuration.
The entire F-35 program will cost $1.7 trillion over the life of the aircraft. "Trillion dollars" sounds like a dream... Moreover, this cost was estimated at $1.5 trillion in 2015. The cost of the program has already increased by $183 billion over the projected cost.
Yes, the cost increases over the years, but it was always said that the opposite would happen. Moreover, in the coming period, the aircraft's engine will be subjected to a major and very expensive model upgrade, a new engine will be designed in the next phase, the ventilation system that cools too many avionic systems on the aircraft will be replaced with a completely new design, the aircraft's flight control software will be completely updated and improved, composite structural coating materials are constantly causing problems, even a lawsuit was filed with a manufacturer on this issue, etc.
The problems of the aircraft do not end, there is a "bathtub curve" in new aircraft systems, we will say that problems are always high in the initial stages, but which initial stage are we talking about? The design of the aircraft started 28 years ago (in fact, there are many years before that, but they were conceptual designs), the global F-35 fleet has totaled more than 721,000 flight hours and includes 17 countries and three US air forces.
Since the F-35 began flying 17 years ago, more than 965 F-35s have been delivered to their users and more than 430,000 sorties have been completed.
However, the world's F-35 fleet has an operational rate of 50%, meaning that one in two aircraft is out of order and unable to fly, and many of its systems are in exceptional condition (flying with inoperable systems). The operational effectiveness of the aircraft is unknown and there are no real operational successes to date. In other words, the F-35 is not yet a "combat proven" aircraft.
The F-35 is a complete "Boondoggle" project
The New York Times used the word "boondoggle" (an unnecessary, wasteful or fraudulent project) to describe the F-35 program. But it added that the US government remains committed to the program.
The US is and will be selling the F-35 to almost every ally. It is being bought and will be bought by US allies with F-16, F-18, F-15, Tornado, EF Typhoon, etc. in their inventory. However, confidence in both the logistic support model of the aircraft and the aircraft itself is constantly eroding, and users are constantly disappointed.
The aircraft has long been known as Fiasco-35, especially in the US community.
