The “enourmous sums wasted” is media fiction. I can’t blame anybody for having that view, a positive news story on the F-35 is about as common as a story praising Sarah Palin or her kids. The news media and DemonRats in congress have opposed every weapon system fielded since the Korean War. In the 1970s, they were going gangbusters to defeat the E-3 AWACS, which has proven to be the greatest force-multiplier in aviation history. The AV-8 Harrier was “The Widowmaker”. The F-16 “Electric Jet” was unsustainable in a deployed location. The F-14 would die because it’s not a good dogfighter and can’t pull 9g like the F-16. On and on and on...
It’s my understanding that a trillion dollars has been spent on the F-35 and most of them can’t even fly. Is this incorrect?