Japan’s Air Self Defense Forces (JASDF) received the JSF as part of an elaborate celebration attended by over 400 guests.
"The F-35A has remarkably advanced system. This highly sophisticated 5th generation fighter will bring a great development to air operations as a game changer," said Gen. Yoshiyuki Sugiyama, JASDF Chief of Air Staff, according to a press release from the aircraft’s developer, Lockheed Martin.
At the same time that the F-35 made its Japanese debut, however, a US Air Force model caught fire, roughly 5,000 miles away.
The incident occurred at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, with the fire breaking out in "the aft section of the aircraft," according to a statement from the US Air Force (USAF). No injuries were reported, but an investigation was launched to discover the cause of the malfunction, believed to be related to the aircraft’s engine.
— F-35 Lightning II (@thef35) September 23, 2016
— F-35 Lightning II (@thef35) September 23, 2016
The Pentagon has long known about problems with the Pratt & Whitney engine. Last October, Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, head of the F-35 Joint Program Office, made assurances that the problems were fixed.
"We are producing fully capable engines on the production line," Bogdan said, according to the CT Mirror, adding that the engine problem "was unfortunate, but we are putting it behind us."
The $1.12 trillion dollar aircraft – the most expensive weapon ever built – has been riddled with problems throughout its development. Last week, Bogdan pointed out that as many as 42 F-35s still on the production line will need to have their fuel tank insulation replaced. This includes models meant for Norway, Italy, Israel, and Japan.
These ongoing issues were not highlighted during Friday’s JASDF roll-out ceremony.
Speaking to Radio Sputnik’s Loud & Clear, F-16 designer Pierre Sprey pointed out that the F-35’s "sophistication" may be overstated, particularly with regard to its stealth capabilities.
"Every Battle of Britain radar would be able to see every stealth airplane today, loud and clear. That’s the irony. Stealth is supposed to be the latest hook that obsoletes everything that came before it, but WWII radar sees it perfectly," he said.
"So the question is, Should the F-35 be canceled? Of course, it should have been canceled yesterday. Will it be canceled? No. Not until it becomes such a public disgrace because of crashes and failures in combat that the services will have to walk away in embarrassment."
Given the fire at Mountain Home Air Force Base, the question remains; can the Japanese government expect similar issues with its F-35s? Speaking to Sputnik, Mike Rein, a spokesman Lockheed Martin’s F-35 division, "the answer is simple – NO!"
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| 4 | Edit | Delete I love the F35! I hope it becomes the wests primary fighter jet. Buy thousands of them. Reply 
| 4 | Edit | Delete jas, They never ever thought that another nation would come up with something better and furthermore prove it's efficiency and cost effective, on the main stage.
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| 3 | Edit | Delete guillaume.t, Was McCain at the controls? There are some stories to be found concerning McCain, aircraft carriers and US jets. Reply 
| 2 | Edit | Delete Mitach2002, In the UK, we part exchanged out Harriers, to purchase the F35 for the aircraft carriers, that are still in build. We might use one, in 2020 and the other might be sold. However, the aircrafts will not be ready anytime this century. Ooooooops, an aircraft carrier, with no jets????? Reply 
| 1 | Edit | Delete it could have been worse, it might have been the japanese delivery a/c that had the problem. :) Reply 
| 1 | Edit | Delete THe japs are under strict orders to keep any problems secret Reply 
| 2 | Edit | Delete The F35 'Crown Jewels ' could also be describes as a 'Load of Old Bollocks'. Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete Porkbelly Porkerpig, LMAO :-))
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| 0 | Edit | Delete anne00marie, Well said.
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| 0 | Edit | Delete chrrev, You got to be kidding right? Reply 
| 1 | Edit | Delete Jets, I ain't Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete Porkbelly Porkerpig, hahaha excellent Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete jas, Fix Or Repair Daily? Reply 
| 2 | Edit | Delete Its the gold iPhone of fighter jets. Ridiculously overpriced, overhyped at launch, mediocre performance, and long waiting times on delivery. Oh an just like the iphone it seems it unexpectedly catches fire..
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| 0 | Edit | Delete The design of F-35 is aimed at approaching the enemy undetected and fire its missiles from a distance. If it's true that stealth isn't really stealth then all the other features of this plane are useless. Against Russian and Chinese standoff systems which have far more reach than the F-35's armament it would be a fat bird falling out of the sky. Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete Why discontinue the Raptor F-22, which seems to be a good aircraft? That's what I ask myself. Could the answer be that politicians and contractors decided to make real big money on the procurement of the F-35? Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete chrrev, Wow, didn't know that. Thanks. Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete mzungu in Africa, You know, I think that Sputnik and RT are just having fun with the Farce 35. And, so do we :-))
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| 0 | Edit | Delete Jets, I always wondered about this story on the Donald Cook aegis being disabled by a russian pair of jets... I've read that story, but is there anyone out there who knows what really happened that day... Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete just looking at the plane front on shows something is wrong. that thing looks like it can barely fly. Ugly.
Show new comments (0)Mitach2002
anne00mariein reply tojas(Show commentHide comment)
US weapons are built for the shareholders. Russia makes defence weapons to do the job.
anne00mariein reply toguillaume.t(Show commentHide comment)
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michael
chrrev
FlorianGeyer
Jetsin reply toPorkbelly Porkerpig(Show commentHide comment)
TEN thumbs up!
Jetsin reply toanne00marie(Show commentHide comment)
Two thumbs up!
Jetsin reply tochrrev(Show commentHide comment)
chrrevin reply toJets(Show commentHide comment)
chrrevin reply toPorkbelly Porkerpig(Show commentHide comment)
chrrevin reply tojas(Show commentHide comment)
ivanwa88
Post by Terry on FB ......too true!
mzungu in Africa
Why are Sputnik and RT (government owned) so keen to report these failures, why does Russia not just lean back reassured and keep silent? It is to sow distrust between the USA and allies and between allies' governments and their people.
mzungu in Africa
Jetsin reply tochrrev(Show commentHide comment)
Jetsin reply tomzungu in Africa(Show commentHide comment)
Just like the USS Donald Duck. The whole story comes down to this, the more you add bells and whistles to anything, the easier it will be to fail. Face down!!
chrrevin reply toJets(Show commentHide comment)
chrrev
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