A former defence minister has warned that a plane that is touted to be the world's most advanced stealth fighter jet and could lend Britain and the U.S. air superiority in any future conflict is turning out to be one of the "the biggest white elephants in history."
The aircraft, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, was designed to replace the Harrier jump-jet, which went out of service in 2011. The United Kingdom had once planned on ordering 135 F-35s, to be ready by 2012. However, three years on, the aircraft is far from being combat-ready and the cost of a single jet has risen from 33 million pounds to 87 million pounds, reported The Independent.
While the Ministry of Defence (MoD) maintains that the U.K. fleet will have the "warfighting capability required" by 2018 - six years late. But former defence minister Sir Nick Harvey said there was "not a cat in hell's chance" the F-35 would be combat-ready by 2018.
It is yet another setback in a series of delays to the Joint Strike Fighter programme, in which Britain is a partner with the United States.
The total cost of the programme has gone up from 233 billion dollars in 2001 to 391 billion dollars last year, making it the U.S. Department of Defense's "most costly and ambitious acquisition program".