Variants within the same plane model, incompatible support equipment and a lack of shared data create barriers to interoperability, a Rand report warns.
The Air Force has passed the point where more cannot be done with less. The Trump administration and Congress need to sufficiently resource the Air Force.
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.