[minnesota_bound]

England will have an aircraft carrier but no planes (waiting for the F-35). Canada will have subs but no torpedoes. The United States of America who defeated the Germans and Japanese in WW2 and kept another world war from breaking out since will build an aircraft with a gun that cannot be fired till 2019. 4+ years from now..... expect delays. Wiki excerpt: original plan to fit the F-35 with only two air-to-air missiles (internally). Ejection seat may fail, causing pilot fatality. (maybe we should buy the Russian ones). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MQk1yvsoKY

So no gun and just 2 missiles. Add external and lose all stealth. Wiki excerpt: The cannon is mounted internally with 182 rounds for the F-35A or in an external pod with 220 rounds for the F-35B and F-35C (hopefully the enemy will fly straight and level)

The development contract for the F-35 was signed in November 1996. The F-35 had it’s first flight in 2006... 10 years! No firing of it’s gun till 2019. Total 23 years!!!

WW2 for the USA was from 1941 to 1945.... 4 years. Ships, planes, tanks, all kinds of weapons and everything else needed to defeat the enemies on opposite sides of the planet. Today we cannot make an aircraft that has a gun that can be fired after 23 years of development.

What country have we become?

[Billthedrill]

Well, we didn't exactly do too well going into WWII - our torpedoes were garbage, we were putting troops into the Lee/Grant tanks, and the Brewster Buffalo was renowned, but not for the right thing. U.S. military procurement has a proud history of incompetence.

In other words, I agree with you.

[FatherofFive]

What country have we become?

A country that takes more time to build a non-functioning website for health insurance than it did to defeat Germany, Italy and Japan.

[rdcbn]

The F-35 carries around 180 rds of 25 mm cannon.

The F-15. F-16 and F/A-18 all carry 500-600 rds of 20mm cannon.

Fact is, 20mm is kind of marginal these days

The 25mm is a significantly more lethal and it's longer in range capability than 20mm and the targeting system for the gun in the F-35 is far more efficient than systems for the earlier aircraft.

A hit with one 25mm round will take out just about anything that flies in the air and it's not that far off from an A-10’s devastating 30mm armament

Only time will tell, but if things work the F-35 will be at least as capable in air to air guns solution than previous aircraft and should even be pretty effective if it ever needs to do CAS against armor

[USAF80]

Over reliance on software. They have numerous guns fighters now that work. Some contractor is making a mint on something we most likely already have that works.