F-35 Far From Ready

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. 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*