The chairman of the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, Adam Smith, called the fifth-generation Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter a rat hole, Popular Mechanics reports.
According to the Democrat, this aircraft should be replaced with others. According to the chairman of the committee, the Pentagon should cut costs for the F-35 Lightning II. “I want to stop throwing money down this rat hole,” the politician said.
According to Smith, the maintenance costs of the F-35 Lightning II are too high and unlikely to be cut in a reasonable amount of time.
Popular Mechanics notes that the congressman represents the area in Washington state, which is located in the Boeing company, which produces, in particular, the F-15EX Eagle and F / A-18E / F Super Hornet.
The publication admits that Smith, claiming excessive spending on the F-35 Lightning II, is right, but notes that this fighter has already been purchased by too many countries, as a result of which the program will be scrapped.
“The Pentagon, by choosing one glider to replace four different gliders, has driven itself, defense contractors, taxpayers and America’s foreign allies into a corner,” the magazine writes.
In January, Christopher Miller, acting US Secretary of Defense, called the F-35 Lightning II program a piece of crap.