Stealth comes at a price for F-35 fighter

Big defence projects can be a risky business for the main contractor and its suppliers and nerve-wracking for the customers. A classic example of the difficulties and challenges is the F-35 joint-strike fighter, a 50-year, $1.5tn programme that has flown into turbulence caused by excessive complexity and rising costs.

Originally presented as a cost-effective means of replacing diverse fleets with a single type, it now threatens to reduce customer fighter forces to numerically ineffective levels.

Built by Lockheed Martin of the US with the UK’s BAE Systems as a prime contractor, the F-35 was created to fulfil every task – attacking well-defended targets, supporting ground troops and matching opposing jets in air to air combat.

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