Declassified Pentagon F-35 Study Details Reliability, Security Woes for America’s Costliest Weapon
- Lack of reliable and ready jets marred years of combat testing
- Issues include gun installations, repair times, cybersecurity
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A declassified Pentagon comprehensive test report of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 warplane, America’s most expensive weapons system, reveals that six years of combat testing has been marred by reliability and maintenance delays, guns that don’t shoot straight and unresolved concerns about cyber defense capabilities.
“The overall reliability, maintainability and availability of the US fleet remains below service expectations,” the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation said in a redacted version of the February report, which was obtained by the Washington-based Project on Government Oversight through the Freedom of Information Act.