Instant Alert: The F-35's turbulent march to combat readiness is far from over — here's everything that's wrong with it

MANAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS   |   UNSUBSCRIBE   |   VIEW ONLINE   The F-35's turbulent march to combat readiness is far from over — here's everything that's wrong with it by Jeremy Bender on Feb 4, 2016, 3:07 PM Advertisement The US military's fifth-generation fighter is no stranger to controversy.  Lockheed Martin's F-35, which comes with an estimated $1.5 trillion price tag over the life of the program, has faced numerous hurdles and delays. Despite the setbacks, the F-35 program is ongoing and the Navy, Marines, and Air Force are testing their version of the aircraft. Here are some of the key problems facing the F-35.   SEE ALSO: 15 of the most expensive projects abandoned by the US military SEE ALSO: These are the 15 best photos of the F-35 from 2015 Software delays The Pentagon discovered deficiencies in the plane's Block 2B software system. Block 2B oversees the plane's initial warfare capabilities, like its various data links and live-weapon firing system. The worst deficiencies were found in the Block 2B's navigation and accuracy software aspects. These software problems slowed weapons integration and flight-testing, and with it the entire aircraft's development. Block 2B also encountered issues with weapon delivery accuracy. The software still had trouble in the use of radar, passive sensors, friend-or-foe identification, and electro-optical targeting.   The 2BS5 software package, which deals with sensors, also continues to run into difficulties. According to the report, "fusion of information from own-ship sensors, as well as fusion of information from off-board sensors is still deficient. The Distributed Aperture System continues to exhibit high false-alarm rates and false target tracks, and poor stability performance, even in later versions of software." Most recently, the F-35 program is expected to miss a deadline for releasing the Block 3F software upgrade. Missing the deadline will likely mean that the F-35 won't be ready for its July 2017 deadline. In short, if the code fails, the F-35 fails. F-35B fuel tank redesign The F-35B was given a redesigned fuel tank ullage inerting system for the fuel systems simulator – in English, this is the part of the plane that prevents potentially explosive interactions of oxygen and gasses in the aicraft's fuel tanks and intake. Further tests showed that the redesigned system had problems in aircraft integration that would require further hardware and software modifications.  See the rest of the story at Business Insider   Share the latest business news with your network: Email sent to:   |   Manage your email preferences   |   Unsubscribe Terms of Service   |   Privacy Policy Business Insider. 150 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011