The F-35 Fighter Is A Success. So How Do We Keep It Ready And Reliable For The Next 5

[Peter1469]

The F-35 Fighter Is A Success. So How Do We Keep It Ready And Reliable For The Next 50 years?

Some may not believe the F-35 is a success, but it has completed its flight tests and is heading to the combat fleets of the US and a dozen allies.

Each of the three fighter variants being built for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps meets all of the performance objectives set out at the program’s inception. F-35 is by far the most survivable and lethal tactical aircraft ever built. Cost per plane is falling in each successive production lot, and reliability is running well ahead of expectations.

F-35 can look forward to 50 years of operations, during which it will undoubtedly be the most widely used tactical aircraft in the world. But that doesn’t mean the management challenge is over. Now the U.S. and its allies must implement a program for keeping the fighters in the air and ready for combat at a price they can afford.


Military planners refer to the diverse activities involved in maintaining and operating weapons systems as “sustainment.” If F-35 is like other military-aircraft programs, then the price of sustainment between now and when the last F-35 retires in 2070 will represent roughly 70% of total life-cycle costs. Sustainment is the main reason why F-35 has been called a “trillion-dollar program.”

Read the rest at the link.

[jigglepete]

The Vermont Air Guard is on the short list for the F-35, it will be good for the state when they get them as replacements...