You Alive, F-35? Only Half of US’ Most Expensive-Ever Fighter Jets Flight Ready

You Alive, F-35? Only Half of US’ Most Expensive-Ever Fighter Jets Flight Ready

The head of the Pentagon’s F-35 office has confirmed that some 49% of the 280 planes delivered to the military by Lockheed Martin are suffering from a series of hardware and software problems. Vice Admiral Matt Winter, director of the F-35 Joint Program Office, has confirmed that just 51% the US new 5th-gen fighter aircraft are flight ready, with the initial production lots delivered starting in 2015 having a flight ready status as low as 40%. Later batches have improved availability rates, with the latest two lots averaging 70-75%, he added.