Struggling for Altitude

摘要

By all accounts, the F-35 Lightning II will be a stellar airplane, easily able to defeat any enemy fighter or air defense system it meets. The program is on track, and there's little doubt the Air Force and its sister services need such an aircraft to modernize their aging fighter inventories. Allies are lining up to buy the fighter. The F-35 is imperiled by no weapon, technical weakness, or impossible requirement. Rather, the largest threat to the new fighter seems to be a major case of nerves. Government officials are daunted by the size, scope, and cost of the program and all that is riding on it.