Is the F-35 Program a failure?

If we look at the title of a recent Forbes article by David Ax (The U.S. Air Force Just Admitted The F-35 Stealth Fighter Has Failed), the answer is yes.

According to me, too; its duration, cost, results indicate beyond failure. It’s a long story how we got here, the American public is also discussing this (with some polarization). The dream of a joint multi-mission sneaky fighter resulted in 3 different models, with the Marine Corps’ push down, who could not forget the Guadalcanal. The operational costs of these 25-ton flying computers with a unit cost of 100 m USD including the engine, are also too much. A lot of unresolved problems are also called “teething”, but the opponents say, “Would there be a 30 years tooth?”

The F-35 is superior with its invisibility and network-centric vision of war. The commander likens it to Ferrari, as you can use it on weekends rather than everyday. Perfect for special missions. This is where the main point of the discussion stems. The Force is looking for more “cost effective” and lighter alternatives, especially as it is realized that it cannot deal with China only qualitatively.

In my opinion, the issue of the invisibility of the F-35 is also a sensitive issue, it is unknown what tomorrow (maybe today) will bring. What Turkey has achieved in Syria and Armenia yesterday with equipment worth of some million dollars, will create much more fragility and pressure on these types of programs.

There are those in the public who argue that America should strengthen the partnership model for efficiency. On the contrary, we were unlawfully excluded from the program. I hope this unlawfulness we are facing will be resolved as soon as possible. “When you encounter impassable, change; impassable becomes passable when you change.”