n the past few months several reputable aviation magazines, such as Combat Aircraft Journal Magazine, have stated that the F-35 is not combat capable. Its April issue had many reports related to the progress of the F-35, but none even mentioned mating the bird to an actual weapon, much less using an actual weapon in training. Apparently the USAF, Navy, and Marine Corps are waiting for a software upgrade titled TR-3 that will control all weapon systems. Until that time the F-35s that have been released to US bases are being used for pilot and maintenance proficiency only.

It is unclear if the software issue was created by a deficiency at Lockheed Martin or if there are new changes required by the Department of Defense. In any event, after decades of development costs that run into the billions, the F-35 is not protecting anything. This is the worst possible outcome for any government program and especially troubling since our national defense is at risk. Or is it? …

By sucking up so many defense dollars—especially those earmarked for the USAF—the F-35 program has harmed America’s defense capability. There is no reason to continue to dump good money after bad into this black hole. The Defense Department and Congress need to learn lessons from this debacle. The primary lesson should be that without sound money the already difficult decisions regarding how much to spend on defense become almost impossible to determine. This has resulted in massive waste of resources of which the F-35 is the poster child.