Prices soar, enthusiasm dives for F-35 Lightning

The Pentagon’s top brass are second-guessing the F-35 Lightning — the most expensive weapons system in history — as spending cuts tighten the military’s budget and a new report says F-35 pilots can’t see that well out of the cockpit.

The Navy’s former top officer believes the Defense Department should consider replacing the F-35A — the Air Force’s variant of the so-called Joint Strike Fighter — with the aircraft carrier model, the F-35C.

But Air Force pilots dismiss the idea of flying a heavier fighter jet, and instead propose that the Marine Corps abandon its version, the F-35B, arguing that its costly helicopter-style landing feature is useful only at air shows.

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