F-35 crash Albuquerque

[pianopraze]

No, they really haven't.  This is something like 15 crashed, and MAYBE 40 mishaps (counting the 15 crashes in that). They've surpassed 800,000 flight hours since they started flying, and Luke AFB alone has flown over 100,000 sorties.

The US Air Force Quietly Admits the F-35 Is a Failure
The F-35 was explicitly intended to be a flexible, effective, and relatively affordable aircraft. Engineers designed its sophisticated logistics management systems to reduce downtime and boost reliability. Instead, it's become a trillion-dollar boondoggle.To say the F-35 has failed to deliver on its goals would be an understatement. Its mission capable rate is 69 percent(Opens in a new window), below the 80 percent benchmark set by the military. Just 36 percent of the F-35 fleet is available for dispatch, well below the required 50 percent standard. Problems include faster-than-expected engine wear, transparency delamination of the cockpit, and unspecified issues with the F-35's power module. Former Air Force pilots have not been kind(Opens in a new window) in their recent evaluations of the aircraft's performance and capabilities.

"Several factors contributed to these parts shortages, including F-35 parts breaking more often than expected, and DOD’s limited capability to repair parts when they break.

The F-35: A Mystery, Inside an Enigma, Wrapped Up in a Shit Show
 At this point, it's obvious that the F-35 is a problem child. There have been so many problems with the aircraft, it's difficult even to summarize them. Pilot blackouts, premature part failures, software development disasters, and more have all figured in various documents over the years. Firing the main gun can crack the plane. The Air Force has already moved to buy new F-15EX aircraft. Multiple partner nations that once promised F-35 buys have shifted orders to other planes.

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When US Navy and Marine F-35 pilots most need performance, the aircraft becomes erratic

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy’s and Marine Corps’ F-35s become unpredictable to handle when executing the kind of extreme maneuvers a pilot would use in a dogfight or while avoiding a missile, according to documents

Pilots reported the aircraft experiencing unpredictable changes in pitch, as well as erratic yaw and rolling motions. The documents identify the issue as a category 1 deficiency and define it as something that limits the aircraft’s performance in such a way that it can’t accomplish its “primary or alternate mission(s).” In this scale, category 1 represents the most serious type of deficiency.

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Report: F-35 Struggled With Reliability, Maintainability, Availability in 2023
 
The U.S. fleet of F-35 fighters continued to be vexed by reliability, maintainability, and availability (RMA) problems last fiscal year, available for operations only 51 percent of the time—compared to a goal of 65 percent—according to the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation’s annual report.
 
“The operational suitability of the F-35 fleet remains below service expectations and requirements,”

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EXCLUSIVE: I'm a former defense official who warned about F-35 safety and security problems years ago - this is why it may have been HACKED or malfunctioned

• A former Marine and watchdog revealed the F-35 is riddled with vulnerabilities
  
•  These vulnerabilities could let hackers brick fleets and take over weapons
  
• The Marine said the missing F-35 likely malfunctioned - but a further investigation will need to be conducted before confirming
  

 
A former US defense official who has warned about F-35 safety issues for years said a software glitch or cyberattack could have caused the missing jet to malfunction over South Carolina this weekend.
Former Marine Dan Grazier, who works at a Defense watchdog, authored a report in 2019 warning that the Department of Defenses' most expensive weapon system is plagued with cybersecurity vulnerabilities. 
He told DailyMail.com today: 'There are thousands of penetration points, weaknesses in the entire enterprise that a hacker could access the software.'
Grazier also claimed that the Pentagon has been aware of the software flaws since the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) office conducted testing in 2017 but has yet to rectify the problems.
The same DOT&E investigation showed a 26 percent fully missional capable rate across the entire F-35 fleet, which may have impacted Sunday's incident.
The $145 million jet went missing for hours over South Carolina when the pilot ejected during a training exercise and was found 28 hours later.

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I can only go on what I heard and read. I can not quote air hours and logged accidents. Those stats sound very good.

However, I heard from the early days, pilots were afraid of this plane.  I’ve read about a myriad of issues. Above is a small sample but I’ve read many, many more.

I’m glad acknowledge you know more but you statement of fact above belies this is a plane that has, from its beginning until today, had serious flaws.

yes I’ve read glowing articles too, but in the back of my mind is pilots afraid of this aircraft.