BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

It should not surprise anyone who has been following recent JSF news that the most recent Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) report on the F-35 does not exactly paint a rosy picture of the program. Weapons that do not fit the F-35's engine bay , continued software glitches , an engine fire , and the usual escalation in costs  continue to raise questions about the JSF. Here are some highlights: In spite of the focused effort, the program was not able to accomplish its goal of completing Block 2B flight testing by the end of October.  As a result of the engine failure that occurred in an F-35A in late June, the program imposed aircraft operating limitations (AOL) on all variants of F-35. Due to the AOL, numerous test points needed for the  Block 2B fleet release and Marine Corps IOC were blocked and cannot be attempted until the restrictions are lifted.  Progress in weapons integration, in particular the completion of planned Block 2...

Mmmm...  Fudge. The Pentagon's Director Operational Testing and Evaluation (DOT&E) report was released this week allowing us to take a peek at how well the JSF's testing has been going over the last year. This has been an interesting year for the JSF, to say the least.  While it has been the brunt of much criticism (including mine), the program has seen quite a bit of progress over the last year.  The biggest sigh of relief must have been when two F-35Cs successfully completed carrier landing trials , putting that nasty tailhook  problem to bed. Of course, the elephant in the JSF's room for 2014 was the ill-timed engine fire that put a halt to the F-35's international debut at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) and the Farnborough Air Show after that .  A fix has been devised for engine issue, but flight restrictions were put in place, keeping F-35 test pilots from testing the aircraft's limits. None of this is any surprise to those who h...