The Pentagon decided to postpone mass production of the fifth generation F-35 fighter-bombers for an indefinite period term. According to Bloomberg, officials have also indicated when the fighter will be ready for combat tests, which have been repeatedly postponed since 2017.
Tests were scheduled for December 2020, and a decision to mass produce the $ 398 billion program was to be made no later than March. Spokesman for the US Undersecretary of Defense Jessica Maxwell explained that technical problems and the impact of COVID-19 were the reason for the cancellation.
A new date will be set after an independent technical review.
In October, Popular Mechanics magazine reported that Lockheed Martin and the Pentagon agreed to delay the pace of production of the F-35 Lightning II, as the military insists on checking the final design of the production vehicle on the Joint Simulation Environment (JSE) simulator. It was clarified that carrying out tests in conditions close to real ones would require too much time and money.
The F-35 Lightning II family of fifth-generation multifunctional fighters has been produced since 2001 by the world’s largest military-industrial corporation Lockheed Martin. The aircraft is offered in three basic versions: A (for the air force), B (short takeoff and vertical landing) and C (deck). The standardization of components for the three modifications reaches 70-90 percent.