I’ve lost count on the many times the F-35 has been grounded already. It feels like a $US1 trillion joke that is not funny at all. Now, 15 brand new F-35s are dead because of a stupid mistake.
The F-35 may be a lot of dubious things (overpriced, underused, occasionally broken) — but it sure is beautiful. Enjoy the eye candy American tax dollars bought in all its splendour — the F-35 just took its first flight into darkness.
The US Air Force got their first regular F-35 Lightning II on July 2011. Now it’s the US Marine’s turn: they just got the first two production models of the F-35B, the variant that allows for short takeoff and vertical landing.
The most expensive weapons program in U.S. history is about to get a lot pricier.
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Lockheed Martin designed the F-35 canopy to withstand the impact of of a 1.8kg bird at 480 knots on the “reinforced windscreen and 350 knots on the canopy crown” without breaking. In other words: Chicken squadron vs F-35, fight!