This is the type of crap that makes me roll my eyes when the DoD talks about “debilitating budget cuts”. Clearly they have no ability to manage the budget they have now.
The F-35 is already a dinosaur. Hate to say it in front of my Zoomie friends, but the fighters of the future will predominantly be drone aircraft. Fighter jocks are necessary, but not in the numbers of the past. Without a human in the cockpit, there’s no need for fighter jets with bells and whistles that cost over $500 million.