Title: If the F-35 fighter jet is so awesome, why is it so hated? | The Times of Israel
Headings: If the F-35 fighter jet is so awesome, why is it so hated?
If the F-35 fighter jet is so awesome, why is it so hated?
Israel’s next stealth aircraft is the future of modern warfare, but the Pentagon’s program costs over $1.5 trillion — and it’s not yet operational
Some harsh criticism
Serious deficiencies
The way of the future
Israel is committed

Content: This training process should take “about a year, maybe a little less” before the aircraft is operational, a high-ranking IAF official told The Times of Israel last month. Serious deficiencies
The F-35 stealth fighter is designed to perform multiple varieties of missions — bombing runs, close air support to protect troops on the ground, air-to-air combat and reconnaissance. For this reason, supporters refer to it as a multi-role fighter, while detractors call it “an ugly mutt.” “It doesn’t do one thing or another thing, it does many things,” F-35 chief test pilot Alan Norman said at Sunday’s conference. F-35 chief test pilot Alan Norman discusses the F-35 stealth fighter jet during a conference at Tel Aviv’s Hilton Hotel on April 3, 2016. ( Judah Ari Gross/Times of Israel)
Yet in many of these categories, pre-existing aircraft remain better suited to the task, which has been recognized by members of the F-35’s team . Dedicated bombers, for instance, can fly farther with larger payloads. For close air support, there are few options better than helicopters, including Israel’s fleet of Apache attack helicopters, which can perform anti-tank missions as well as provide cover for ground troops. The F-35 was also found to be “substantially inferior” to a 40-year-old F-15 fighter jet with which it had skirmished, according to an unclassified document written by an F-35 test pilot that was obtained and published by the War is Boring military news website in 2015. (Lockheed acknowledged the accuracy of the leaked document, but said it did not provide the context of the test in question, which was more about the F-35’s handling and less about its fighting capabilities.)