This is what regret looks like for the Pentagon

All this high technology to fight a bunch of Arabs on Toyotas with hand held missile launchers. And they keep threatening to get rid of the A10.

i think this is what military acquisition corruption looks like

Ike said it in the 50's, but no one ever wants to listen.

The F-35 is the replacement for the Navy's F-18 Hornet, the Air Force's F-16 Falcon, and the Marine's AV-8B Harrier - it was not designed as a replacement for the Air Force's F-15 Eagle. The F-35 is not an air superiority fighter with poor rearward visibility, less than stellar maneuverability, and poor thrust to weight ration. The F-22 Raptor was the replacement for the F-15, but the Pentagon screwed up that opportunity badly and the US is now left with too few replacements for the F-15. Of course someone may believe the F-35 is going to replace the F-15, maybe the F-15E as a ground attack bomb truck, but it cannot fight its way back out of a hot zone the same way an unladen F-15 is capable of. Someday the F-35 will earn its respect, but not in the air superiority role.

I see the problem with this program as one of too many chef's in the kitchen. In previous aviation programs for the military the design and test staff could meet in a classroom, now they would need Dodger Stadium.

Lockheed needs to downsize back to levels last seen in Burbank, tune up the Skunk Works to keep the enemy from learning how things work, and assure that everything from the molecular up is sourced in America, and Americans build in America.

Punks that oppose peace and tranquility should run like the roaches they are when they see the red, white, and blue coming at them.

Reading the DoD report really spells it out. They have run out of fingers for the holes in the dike and there are more coming than the toes can take care of. We could not burn money any faster than it is being poured down the hole of the F-35 program. At its best it will have more operational limitations than any pilot could hope to remember and not be the master of any single combat role. When one does take the missile suppository, if the pilot survives, they probably will not survive the ejection. Flush it, learn the lessons, make the acquisition changes, and move on.

Excellent points indicated by the previous posters! Let's not give Lockheed a pass here, both F-22 and F-35 are Lockheed programs.