The US Airforce has signaled a possible end to the F-35 fighter jet program. However, it remains a formidable fighter jet.
He said that F-35 is a Ferrari that cannot be used for low-end operations, and there is a need to develop an affordable, lightweight fighter to replace hundreds of Cold War-vintage F-16s and complement the existing small fleet of F35's. The chief also acknowledged the F-35 is having engine wear issues, and it will be looked into during the TacAir review. He is quoted as saying that the Air Force has the largest and “most mature” F-35 fleet and is seeing F135 engines “failing a little faster in certain areas,” due to their “high use rate” and heavy deployment pace, given their relative newness in the fleet.
The F35 is a highly sophisticated stealth fighter jet with high-tech sensors but is too costly, maintenance-intensive buggy, and unreliable. The F-35 initiative was started to produce thousands of fighters and replace almost all of the existing tactical warplanes in the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps' inventories.
Though media reports say that Brown’s comments are a tacit admission that the F-35 has failed, the problems have been eliminated, and the aircraft has been upgraded with new software and newer weapon systems. Reports also suggest that the Defense Department has corrected hundreds of Category 1 deficiencies, and the cost of the plane has decreased with the growth in sales. Hence we mark the claim as Partly True.
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