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Pentagon Labyrinth

F-35 Far from Ready to Face Current or Future Threats, Testing Data Shows

March 25, 2019

The annual testing office report on the F-35 program shows little to no improvement in several key metrics for an effective aircraft program, and the Navy’s version is not ready for combat, contrary to the Pentagon’s recent announcement.

The Navy’s version of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, recently declared ready for combat, has netted unacceptably low “fully mission capable” rates—meaning it’s in fact almost never fully ready for combat—according to a document obtained by the Center for Defense Information at the Project On Government Oversight (POGO).

The fact that the Navy is pushing ahead with the aircraft in spite of evidence that it is not ready for combat and could therefore put at risk missions, as well as the troops who depend on it to get to the fight, comes at the same time as the Pentagon’s latest annual operational testing report for fiscal year 2018 shows that the entire F-35 program, the most expensive weapon system in history, is not ready to face current or future threats.

We look at these issues and more in the latest episode of the Pentagon Labyrinth.

People

  • Host

    Dan Grazier

    Dan Grazier is a senior defense policy fellow at the Center for Defense Information at POGO.

Show Notes:

  • F-35 Far from Ready to Face Current or Future Threats, Testing Data Shows
  • FY 2018 DOT&E Annual F-35 Report
  • NAVAIR F-35 Readiness Charts
  • *Music: “Without Limits” Ross Bugden*

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The Center for Defense Information at POGO aims to secure far more effective and ethical military forces at significantly lower cost.

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