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Will the U.S. Retrofit Older F-35s to Fight or Buy New?

The Pentagon owns many early-lot F-35s that cannot meet full combat standards. Commanders now stand at a fork in the road: pour money into deep retrofits or buy fresh jets straight off Lockheed Martin’s moving line in Fort Worth. Vice Adm. Mat Winter, then head of the Joint Program Office, told reporters on Sept 18 that annual production would climb from forty-six aircraft in 2016 to about one hundred thirty in 2018 and rise again afterward.

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Lockheed’s F-35 Still Falls Short, Pentagon’s Chief Tester Says

Lockheed Martin’s F-35 is America’s most expensive weapons project. After fifteen years in development, the jet is still not ready for the fight the services expect. A confidential memorandum dated Aug 9 from Dr. Michael Gilmore, the Defense Department’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, warns that the fighter “is not on a path toward success.” His language is blunt.

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