some F35 info (4 Viewers)

[destrozas]

Just one objective fact: 1 million flight hours (which is not the actual number, it's 954,000). 12 units have been lost due to technical failures. I'm excluding units lost due to human error. This means it suffered an accident 6,000 hours earlier than the Eurofighter and 9,000 hours earlier than the Rafale, which are 4th generation. While it's true that access to the aircraft's software is blocked for all buyers except Morocco and the United States, according to some analysts, Spain was in direct talks with the US in 2023 to obtain that access for the purchase of 50 units. Two years later, Spain abandoned the deal due to the US's firm refusal to grant access and the discovery of a backdoor in the software that allowed the US to remotely control certain aspects of the aircraft. This is particularly problematic given the clause regarding the aircraft's operational status for certain missions, which is solely at the request, or rather, imposed by the Trump administration. The reasons why the F-35, even though it's the "most advanced" aircraft in the "free" world, isn't what the propaganda claims: 83,333 hours lost to accidents, maintenance costs, dependence on exclusive software, programmed limitations, administrative constraints, and the excessive cost of facilities, plus the complete refusal to sell the training simulator, make this project unviable. Denmark and Norway were the first to regret acquiring these units. Norway, of the 100 aircraft purchased, only had 25 operational by January 2026, with 75 units undergoing maintenance or repair due to incidents or rust caused by a lack of infrastructure suited to the aircraft's special needs.

 

[GTX]

OMG, what a load of lies and gibberish! I am hard pressed to find any facts in that post, let alone objective ones.

Just one objective fact: 1 million flight hours (which is not the actual number, it's 954,000). 12 units have been lost due to technical failures. I'm excluding units lost due to human error. This means it suffered an accident 6,000 hours earlier than the Eurofighter and 9,000 hours earlier than the Rafale, which are 4th generation.

For one the flight numbers are going up all the time. Moreover, unless you also put down the corresponding numbers of aircraft and flight hours for all types this sort of thing is meaningless. For example, there are more F-35s flying than Rafales and Typhoons combined. And if we look at the total loss numbers (to date), one will see that there have been 8 Rafales lost (all reasons), 11 Typhoons and 13 F-35s. When one factors in the greater number of F-35s flying it actually paints the latter in a good light.

I could dig more into the numbers you are purporting but it would be meaningless.

While it's true that access to the aircraft's software is blocked for all buyers except Morocco and the United States,

Errr…look up Australia-Canada-UK (ACURL) Reprogramming Laboratory. More over, I am curious how you somehow think Morocco has some sort of special permission given they haven't actually purchased the F-35 yet.

according to some analysts, Spain was in direct talks with the US in 2023 to obtain that access for the purchase of 50 units. Two years later, Spain abandoned the deal due to the US's firm refusal to grant access and the discovery of a backdoor in the software that allowed the US to remotely control certain aspects of the aircraft.

Except there is no deal for Spain to purchase the F-35 and never was. Yes, they had reportedly made some enquiries (like many other operators have), and yes, it will make, in its STOVL F-35B format, a perfect replacement for the AV-8B. However, if anything the Spanish reluctance to date is more about budget issues and the desire to focus more on European/homegrown investments than any conspiracy theory level rubbish.

This is particularly problematic given the clause regarding the aircraft's operational status for certain missions, which is solely at the request, or rather, imposed by the Trump administration.

While I have no love for the current US regime, the comments here are also garbage.

The reasons why the F-35, even though it's the "most advanced" aircraft in the "free" world, isn't what the propaganda claims: 83,333 hours lost to accidents, maintenance costs, dependence on exclusive software, programmed limitations, administrative constraints, and the excessive cost of facilities, plus the complete refusal to sell the training simulator,

Refusal to sell training simulator? Really? That's certainly news to those air forces already using them. In fact, I have already sat in one of the simulators…or maybe I was just dreaming it.

make this project unviable. Denmark and Norway were the first to regret acquiring these units. Norway, of the 100 aircraft purchased, only had 25 operational by January 2026, with 75 units undergoing maintenance or repair due to incidents or rust caused by a lack of infrastructure suited to the aircraft's special needs.

Hmmm…funny how Norway has only purchased 52 F-35As. So how are they supposed to have 75 undergoing maintenance?

For all your implied claims of problems with the F-35, it is kind of telling that over 1300 have been delivered and that the type is operating with/has been selected by some 20 countries to date. But what would any of them know…

 

[ThomasP]

Interesting bit on the Japanese participation in the F-35 story:

"https://militarnyi.com/en/news/japan-converts-helicopter-carrier-f-35b/"

 

[GrauGeist]

lmao - F-35s don't "rust".

The maritime F-35s experience oxidation to their stealth coatings (radar absorbent material) after a length of time exposed to harsh conditions at sea.
This can be seen as reddish-brown streaks in photos but has zero effect on the RAM's performance.

 

[WARSPITER]

For one the flight numbers are going up all the time. Moreover, unless you also put down the corresponding numbers of aircraft and flight hours for all types this sort of thing is meaningless. For example, there are more F-35s flying than Rafales and Typhoons combined. And if we look at the total loss numbers (to date), one will see that there have been 8 Rafales lost (all reasons), 11 Typhoons and 13 F-35s. When one factors in the greater number of F-35s flying it actually paints the latter in a good light.

This is a very important point for the future.

The current production rate of the Dassault Rafale is approximately two aircraft per month, with plans to increase to four per month in the future.

The current production rate of the Eurofighter is 1.5 per month with a planned increase to 2.5 per month in 2028.

The 2025 total delivery for the F35 was 191 aircraft so an average of 15.99 per month.

When consideration is given to aircraft ability this leaves European manufacturing in a weak position. Even adding SAAB production which is
aiming at 36 Gripen per year it is not a high amount.

For the Rafale and SAAB the figures for domestic use are lowered again as there are export orders involved.

In other words, European countries need the F35. Not just in numbers but more importantly to give the ability to force multiply as it is known.

Add in Boeing getting the contract for the F47 and Lockheed Martin can concentrate on F35 production.

 

[EwenS]

Lockheed Martin says the stable F-35 production rate is about 156 per annum or 13 per month.

The 2025 deliveries figure of 191 is a bit misleading as it included aircraft produced in 2024 that couldn't be delivered then. Those aircraft had been sitting more or less physically complete but awaiting software clearances. Those came through in 2025 allowing the aircraft to be delivered to customers.

Lockheed Martin Delivered Record 191 F-35 Fighters in 2025

Lockheed Martin says it delivered 191 F-35 fighters in 2025 as it works to clear a backlog of jets in storage.

www.airandspaceforces.com

 

[Admiral Beez]

Lockheed Martin says the stable F-35 production rate is about 156 per annum

At that rate It'll take over three decades to match the F-4 Phantom's 5,195 units, achieved over 23 years of production.