F-35s Delayed; F-16s Step Up

Written by Dabney B. on Tuesday, February 7th, 2012

Lockheed Martin has been working tirelessly to promote the F-35 as the ideal aircraft for the Joint Strike Fighter Program, and they have been showing off the various models of the F-35 to prospective buyers overseas. As it turns out, Lockheed may have bitten off more than they can chew. The enormous military contractor is not pumping out F-35s as quickly as they promised.

These delays are leaving Air Force officials and tax payers a bit miffed, as Air Force leaders are paying $2.8 billion to perform the necessary maintenance to keep older F-16s in the air.

While this production hiccup has tarnished the reputation of Lockheed Martin, don’t lose any sleep over this multi-billion dollar corporation. The Air Force is still committed to the F-35 for the JSF program and intends to purchase the full lot of 2,443 F-35s.

While the Pentagon might forgive Lockheed Martin for the delays, the taxpayers are going to have to pick up the slack. Considering recent doubts regarding the effectiveness of the F-35 in aerial combat and the current development of Russian and Chinese aerial superiority fighters, Lockheed Martin cannot afford to become lazy and supply the American Air Force with anything less than a superior product.

Hopefully, Lockheed Martin will pick up the pace and deliver the remainder of the expected aircraft within its five year window.

In the meantime, though, the F-16 is a solid replacement for the F-35. Developed by General Dynamics and built by Lockheed Martin, the F-16 is an excellent aerial superiority fighter that has slowly evolved to fill more of a multi-purpose role. While the F-16 can certainly serve in a variety of capacities, it completely lacks the STOVL capabilities of the F-35B and is not designed for carrier usage like the F-35C. The F-16 will only truly be able to serve as a replacement for the F-35A until Lockheed Martin picks up the pace and delivers more of its promised aircraft.

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