Let’s start with a reminder that the F-35 is the most expensive procurement program in Pentagon history. (Yeah, we say that a lot, but it’s a fact.)  

During the transition between the Trump and Biden Administrations, Taxpayers for Common Sense suggested a review of the whole program in our recommendations to the incoming Biden Administration.  

F-35: Use the recently announced delay of the start of full rate production to reassess inventory needs for the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. This is the most expensive procurement program in the history of the Pentagon. Take the necessary time to get this right.   

As a refresher, in the Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) request, the Trump Administration asked for 79 F-35s and Congress said, “Heck no! We’re going to give you 96. You know, because we lurve you…” You can read what we had to say about all that at the end of last year. 

This year’s request includes funds for 85 aircraft, with $9.4 billion for procurement, and about another $2.6 billion in related spending. But if past is prologue, and it usually is when it comes to the F-35, Congress will add more airframes during the course of the budget process, as they did last year, and the year before that, when they added 18 unrequested aircraft. 

You know what they say about throwing good money after bad…