F-35 warplane facing turbulence at home and abroad

Soaring way over budget and lagging far behind schedule, the F-35 warplane – once billed as “affordably stealthy” – is facing severe political turbulence at home and skittish buyers abroad. The combination could doom the entire $1.45-trillion program.

In the heady days when the all-purpose fighter-bomber was launched, Pentagon planners expected to buy more than 3,000, including hundreds that could hover like a helicopter and land vertically for the U.S. Marines and others that could launch and land on the U.S. Navy’s massive aircraft carriers.

Manufacturer Lockheed Martin was hoping allies, including Canada, would line up to buy more than 1,000 additional F-35s to give their air forces deep-strike capacity in heavily defended airspace – think China – and the ability to drop laser-guided bombs capable of destroying deeply buried targets.

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