Lockheed, as well as the government, argues that the F-35 was designed as a stealth-first aircraft, which should justify its lacking performance. It turns out that even in stealth, it might not be very good. Using modern radar, the aircraft's cross section was significantly reduced, but using older technologies or alternate detection methods, the aircraft is still quite vulnerable.

Riddled by delays, unexpected costs, technical malfunctions and even dangerous situations, the F-35 has received its fair share of criticism. Why is it continuing?

To be fair, the program has improved significantly over the course of its existence. Lockheed has been consistently delivering aircraft, and many of its technical issues have been dealt with and resolved. But the F-35 symbolizes the state of the military-industrial complex in the US. The government spends a lot on defense. Former president Trump, along with Congress, allocated 705.4 billion dollars to the Department of Defense for Fiscal Year 2021. Again, that's an almost unfathomable amount of money. The absurd spending we put towards defense and programs like the F-35 have been intensely scrutinized by politicians, who call for large military spending cuts. However, it's not as easy as simply waving your hand and reducing spending. Bernie Sanders, one of the loudest voices in this camp, offers plenty of reasons - unnecessary wars in the Middle East (at the cost of civilian lives), ultra-wealthy defense company executives, etc. These are all great reasons and they make sense, but he gives no clear plan of getting any of these things done - and understandably so. The first issue is that you would not be able to get much support for a budget cut in Congress. Most defense bills are passed with bipartisan support, and if the majority of Democratic politicians support current defense bills, it's highly unlikely that a reduced one will pass. Next, the defense industry is deeply tied in trade, the economy, and the jobs of millions of Americans. It will be impossible to make a drastic change in funding without causing a penetrating ripple effect.

We absolutely spend way too much money on the military. People are killed every day because of this, American or not, civilian or military. The F-35 is a great example of our wasteful attitude towards most things military. It makes a lot of sense as to why we should try to spend less money on these kinds of programs; we just need to be more careful about it - it's not as simple as people make it out to be.