Pentagon weapons tester: F-35 fighter jet has ‘significant’ problems

Story highlights The assessment warns of significant issues with the warplane The $400 billion program is at risk of not reaching full combat capability CNN — The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program is drawing sharp criticism from the Pentagon’s top weapons tester, who warns the aircraft is “on a path of failing to deliver” its full combat capability. U.S. Air Force/FIle RC-135U — The RC-135U Combat Sent, based at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, provides strategic electronic reconnaissance information to the president, secretary of defense, Department of Defense leaders and theater commanders. Airman 1st Class Dillian Bamman/USAF KC-135 Stratotanker — The four-engine KC-135 joined the Air Force fleet in 1956 as both a tanker and cargo jet. U.S. Air Force/Josh Plueger In the U.S. Air Force fleet Prev Next Roger Cabiness, a Department of Defense spokesman for the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, confirmed the contents of Gilmore’s memo and told CNN it “provides details of significant performance problems that must be corrected for the Joint Strike Fighter to achieve full combat capability, as well as concerns that the program likely lacks the resources needed to correct those problems consistent with beginning operational testing in 2018.” Combining advanced stealth with speed, agility and a 360-degree view of the battlefield, the F-35 is already the most expensive weapons system in history and has come under harsh scrutiny from lawmakers and watchdog groups after numerous hardware malfunctions and software glitches delayed the aircraft’s production for more than three years and caused its budget to swell some $200 billion over initial estimates. In addition to the Air Force declaring its version of the F-35 ready for combat earlier this month, the DOD’s Joint Program Office touted recent successes in testing the fighter’s weapons firing system.