In Transition

With Australia’s First Two Aircraft Now Flying, the F-35 is Becoming a Reality, but Challenges Remain

The F-35 Lightning Ii is Perhaps the Only Aircraft in History to Generate 25 Million Lines of Software, and an Equal Number of Column Inches of Negative Copy.

And Given the Program’s Overreaching Ambition, Cost, Complexity and Delays, Such Brickbats Are Hardly Surprising. Nonetheless as More, and Cheaper, F-35s Continue to Emerge From Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth Factory, There is a Palpable Sense in Those Close to the Joint Strike Fighter Program That the Aircraft Will Deliver on Its Promise to Redefine the Parameters of 21st Century Air Power.