According to Bloomberg, these faults may negatively affect the fighter jet’s combat readiness, capabilities and maintenance
Bloomberg on Tuesday, citing a Pentagon test office report prepared for publication, said that Lockheed Martin Concern has yet to fix the 871 defects identified in the F-35 fifth-generation fighter jet
“These faults,” according to the report, which has reached the agency, could adversely affect the combat readiness, usability and maintenance capabilities of the fighter jet. The assessment notice also notes that only two defects were corrected by F-35 developers in the past year. In total, the aircraft had 941 defects at the end of its development and demonstration phase in April 2018″, – the notice said.
Lockheed Martin, according to Bloomberg, has already produced or ordered 970 of the 3,200 or even more such fighter jets that are supposedly needed to meet the immediate defence needs of the US and its allies. Despite identified shortcomings and obvious problems with fixing them, the programme to build these fighters, currently estimated at $398bn, has strong support in the US Congress, as does President-elect Joseph Biden’s team, the agency points out.
In addition to technical problems, the F-35 program, according to Bloomberg, also faces financial difficulties. Thus, the current administration of Donald Trump has planned for its implementation $78 billion for the period from 2021 to 2025. As of June 2020, the Pentagon, on the other hand, estimates that $88 billion will be needed to successfully implement the program for that period.