Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning and F-22 'Raptor' : News & Discussion

[Optimist]

Found it, The dreams of going with Sweden are gone

"Sweden and Germany signed a Letter of Intent at the NATO summit in Ankara to advance their air defense capabilities, sparking major developments for a joint 6th-generation fighter. Following the collapse of the Franco-German Future Combat Air System (FCAS), Germany's Airbus is seeking Swedish defense firm Saab as a preferred partner to jointly develop a new 6th-generation aircraft. [1, 2, 3]

 

[Picdelamirand-oil]

Light News English

The Pentagon has blocked the public release of a congressionally-mandated annual report on the F-35 fighter jet program for the first time in over 20 years. The Government Accountability Office...

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The Pentagon has blocked the public release of a congressionally-mandated annual report on the F-35 fighter jet program for the first time in over 20 years.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), which has conducted yearly assessments of the $1.6 trillion program since Congress mandated the reviews in 2005, said Defense Department officials determined the report contained "Controlled Unclassified Information," preventing any portion of it from being released — leaving only the title of the June 25 assessment publicly known: "F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: Update on Production and Modernisation Efforts."
This move comes amid a backdrop of ongoing troubles for the program, including production delays, cost overruns, and supply chain issues, with the F-35's Block 4 upgrade package now expected no earlier than 2031 — at least six years behind schedule — and some planned capabilities being cut entirely.

The F-35 no longer merely overpromises and underdelivers; now, it underinforms.

 

[Picdelamirand-oil]

Ok, what has happened to the Rafale? You guys only get this worked up when the wheels have fallen off of it, It can't be over FCAS or a future 6th gen, nothing is happening there

There is public and non public data, it seems the GAO put non public data in it, I guess they will have to do a rewrite, You could look at it as the GAO has access to non public data, it is a transparent programme

As to block 4, They added stuff, they took stuff off, it's hard and won't be finished for a while

In the context of the F-35, this obviously looks like an attempt to suppress embarrassing information regarding production, modernization, TR-3/Block 4, engines, parts, availability, or costs.

The 2025 GAO report on F-35 acquisition was already highly critical: it highlighted Block 4 delays, engine and aircraft delivery issues, and incentive payments made despite delays, concluding that the program continued to overpromise and underdeliver.

The most reasonable interpretation, therefore, is that the 2026 report likely contained information the Pentagon did not want picked up by the media, allies, competitors, or foreign lawmakers. F-35 buyers—such as the UK, Japan, Italy, Poland, Germany, Finland, and Switzerland—rely on these reports to assess the program's actual trajectory. By blocking publication, Washington is reducing transparency precisely when the fleet is grappling with TR-3/Block 4 upgrades, declining availability, sustainment costs, and parts shortages.

This is highly detrimental to confidence. A healthy program can withstand transparency; when you start hiding the thermometer, everyone wonders just how high the fever is.