The F-35 program is in much worse shape than you thought....

via SMRP

The Joint Strike Fighter Operational Test Team (JOTT) identified 15 WDA tests for the Block 2B aircraft that the Marine Corps declared ready for combat last year. Twelve were completed, but 11 of them required the developmental testers to intervene—and in some cases weaken the test rules to “less challenging” ones—to help the plane do things like acquire and identify the target so it could succeed in firing a weapon. Given these heavy interventions, DOT&E found that in its current configuration the combat effectiveness of the Marine Corps’ F-35Bs “will depend in part on the degree to which the enemy’s capabilities exceed the constraints of these narrow scenarios.” So the F-35 will win only if the enemy decides not to exceed the F-35’s limited capabilities.
The remaining three tests were pushed to later versions of the plane due to delays in implementing new software meant to fix mission system sensors and the data fusion problems. All of the deferred tests relate to the AIM-120 missile, the only weapon the F-35 can currently use against enemy planes.
Tests of the F-35’s ability to fire and drop the majority of its planned weapons in a combat-realistic operating environment won’t actually begin until the Block 3F configuration in 2021. Accomplishing those will require a total of 50 test events.

I've called the IOC of the F-35 into USMC service to be a fraud on the nation and expressed my disappointment in the then Commandant, current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Dunford's integrity....I won't even comment on the Deputy Commandant's behavior in this travesty.  This report confirms my worst fears.  Additionally, I find it amazing that we will not see the majority of the testing for the weapons on this plane till AFTER its declared operational!

How can this be allowed?  We are seeing the biggest case of Pentagon corruption in our lifetimes!

Note:  Are you one of those people that believe that the F-35 is a done deal and that we should stop talking about?  Do you think that the decision is already made and that we should just live with it even though you're aware of the problems and believe as I do that we're seeing criminal behavior?  If so then you're part of the problem!  You don't stop fighting evil, criminality or wrongdoing....you keep slugging and you hold your ground!