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: Though debate may rage over the virtues of the futuristic fighter jet, Israel is on track to receive the aircraft later this year. Israeli pilots will leave for the United States shortly to begin training on the platform and the first two F-35 fighter jets are projected to start their journey to Israel on December 12, 2016, according to the air force. Along with the planes themselves, Israel will received an F-35 simulator, one that is “10 times” as immersive as the simplified version brought to the Hilton Hotel, a Lockheed Martin employee said. F-35 chief test pilot Alan Norman, left, speaks with pilot and Likud MK Yoav Kish in an F-35 simulator during a conference at Tel Aviv’s Hilton Hotel on April 3, 2016. ( Judah Ari Gross/Times of Israel)
Using both the simulator and the two jets, the IAF will prepare the first F-35 squadron, known as the Golden Eagles, to use the fifth-generation fighter. 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. (