The US defence force has discovered its F-35 program is a trillion dollar blunder

WITH the total program costing more than a trillion dollars, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighters are the most expensive weapon in history. So why is the test pilot so unhappy?

WITH the total program costing more than a trillion dollars, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighters are the most expensive weapon in history.

So, when a test pilot wrote a seething review of the pricey new stealth jet following a series of mock air battles in January, the US defence force would have been left scrambling for solutions.

Especially since the defence force and its allies, including Australia, were banking on the JSF to replace its current fleet of fighter jets.

Speaking to the media today, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he was not deterred by the report and stood by Australia’s decision to buy the fighter jets for our military.

The test in question took place over the Pacific Ocean near Edwards air force Base in California on January 14 this year.

Flying in an F-35, the unnamed pilot set flight with a two-seat F-16D — one of the fighter jets set to be replaced by the newer model.

So, you are telling me this trillion dollar program has been a fail.

In the simulation the F-35 pilot was trying to “shoot down” the F-16, while it was doing its best to evade the attack.

“The evaluation focused on the overall effectiveness of the aircraft in performing various specified manoeuvres in a dynamic environment,” the F-35 tester wrote in the report obtained by Medium.

“This consisted of traditional Basic Fighter Manoeuvres in offensive, defensive and neutral setups at altitudes ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 feet.”

Making the results worse was the fact the F-35 was flying with no weapons under its wings, fuselage or bomb bay, while the F-16 was heavily equipped.

This was supposed to give the F-35 an advantage in manoeuvrability, but even stripped down it was no match for the much older F-16.

“Even with the limited F-16 target configuration, the F-35A remained at a distinct energy disadvantage for every engagement,” he wrote.

“Instead of catching the bandit off-guard by rapidly pull aft to achieve lead; the nose rate was slow, allowing him to easily time his jink prior to a gun solution.”

It might look outdated, but the F-16 was the king of the skies in this simulation.

Adding insult to injury, when the F-16 had the F-35 in its gun sights, the pilot came to the quick realisation that he was unable to manoeuvrer out of the way.

In fact, out of the whole test, the F-35 discovered only one way to be victorious in the short-range air-to-air engagement.

However, the pilot said the sliding movement required to complete the action depleted energy stocks quickly.

“The technique required a commitment to lose energy and was a temporary opportunity prior to needing to regain energy … and ultimately end up defensive again.”

In addition to sloppy functionality, the pilot said the design of the cockpit made him vulnerable to enemy attacks.

“The helmet was too large for the space inside the canopy to adequately see behind the aircraft,” he wrote.

Looks like it’s back to the drawing board.

News.com.au has contacted the US Defense Department for comment.