It has become the poster child for fighter aircraft readiness woes..The Lockheed Martin F-35 has been plagued by an endless series of bugs, including problems with its stealth coating, sustained supersonic flight, helmet-mounted display, excessive vibration from its cannon, engine reliability and even faulty ejection seats. The Government of Canada has just announced it will purchase 88 of the fifth-generation jets, in a C$19 billion deal to replace aging F-18s..According to the National Post, that works out to a whopping $450 million per plane, for an aircraft that normally costs around $90 million..The total includes weapons and spare parts, new facilities to house and maintain the fighter jets and upgrades to the military’s computer networks, the report said..There is no denying, the F-35 is a state-of-the-art jet fighter. But there is also no denying that it continues to have issues..Last month, a brand new F-35B with a test pilot at the controls attempted to land during a routine inspection flight at Marine Corps Naval Air Station Fort Worth. Dramatically captured on film, the aircraft bounced on the runway, and then the tail — with the engine exhaust still in vertical mode — lifted, causing the nose to strike the runway at an off-angle, then spun the aircraft around. When the aircraft turned back to its original orientation, the pilot ejects safely..Although the aircraft was a Marine Corps variant equipped for vertical takeoff and landing, the Air Force pilot was fully trained to operate it in that mode..The engines of the stealthy jet are produced by Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies. Such was the concern, the Pentagon temporarily stopped accepting engines for the F-35 while it investigates the cause of the Dec. 15 crash..Over the last few years, the military and Lockheed Martin have resolved some of the F-35’s problems, but the cumulative effect of the delays has forced the US Air Force to shelve plans for the F-35 to replace the F-16, which now will keep flying until the 2040s, Business Insider reported..An April 2022 GAO report has also blamed existing F-35 problems on a lack of spare parts, a lack of maintenance equipment, and on ground crews lacking the technical data they needed to maintain the aircraft. The report also revealed, shockingly, that Pratt & Whitney delivered only six of 152 F-35 engines on time in 2021, “primarily due to quality issues that required resolution before engines could be accepted by the government.”.Recently, concerns were also raised by South Korean officials, a client of the F-35A fighter..In an article published by the Yonhap News Agency, the reliability of ROKAF (Republic Of Korea Air Force) F-35A fighters was seriously questioned..According to the report, citing air force data, Rep. Shin Won-sik of the ruling People Power Party lawa said that the South Korean F-35s have been "operationally unready" 234 times over an 18-month period ending in June 2022..The low availability rate, caused by malfunctions, grounded the ROKAF F-35s on 172 instances, while in 62 cases the jets could fly but they were somehow limited and unable to carry out certain missions..And then you have Israel … Following the December crash, the Israeli military said 11 of its F-35I jets would be checked for a similar issue, The Times of Israel reported. This week, the Israeli Ministry of Defense also officially requested 25 F-15 EX fighters from the US, with hopes of possibly doubling that order..Why a 4th generation fighter jet at this point in time? The answer is obvious: The IDF is not putting all its chips on the roulette table of a troubled US$1 trillion fighter — the most expensive military project in US history. In other words, yes we will acquire F-35s to keep the US happy, but we would also like more F-15 EX fighter jets — fighters with a stellar track record.. In fact, the IAF expressed an urgent need for more F-15s that can be loaded with some types of weapon systems developed in Israel that are tailored to destroy hardened targets, such as Iranian nuclear sites..With Iran the main target, extending the F-35's range has remained a top priority for Israel..Israel’s ability to carry out an airstrike inside Iran while ensuring enough fuel remains for the return trip has been a significant issue.. As a result of this challenge, Israel has been the first country to ask for external fuel tanks for the F-35I Adir (“Mighty Ones”) variant..This is not an issue however, for the F-15EX. It can strike, near and far. While not as sophisticated as the F-35, Boeing’s Eagle II, “carries more weapons than any other fighter in its class, and can launch hypersonic weapons up to 22 feet long and weighing up to 7,000 pounds.”.The world’s fastest fighter jet (Mach 2.50) and with a hefty attack range of 2,222 kilometers, the Eagle-II replicates a standard F-15 with an improved processor, a new fly-by-wire system and a more sophisticated electronic warfare suite, Eurasian Times reported..The F-15EX will also be the first to be equipped with weapons in development, such as the new Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM.).More importantly, Fox News reported that the upgrades given to the F-15EX would enable this fighter jet to perform the same bomber functions at one-third of the operational cost of the F-35..Additionally, the aircraft’s upgrades allow it to operate for up to 20,000 flight hours for US$29,000 per hour..Compared to US$41,986 an hour and a maximum design service life of 8,000 hours for the F-35, it's a dismal comparison that military planners in the Pentagon and politicos on the Hill, surely can’t ignore.
