Variants within the same plane model, incompatible support equipment and a lack of shared data create barriers to interoperability, a Rand report warns.
When combined with another F-35 deal from December 2024, the Pentagon will pay Lockheed Martin about $24.3 billion for the 18th and 19th lots of the jets.
The sixth-generation F-47 will replace the F-22 Raptor, have advanced engines and stealth and fly with drone wingmen called collaborative combat aircraft.