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The Israeli government selected the F-35A as its air force's next generation aircraft in 2010
- making it the first country to receive the F-35 through the U.S. government's Foreign Military Sales process. Singapore also has said it will buy F-35, although it hasn't set numbers yet, and there may be longer-term interest from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil and India, said Hardy, of IHS Jane's. The wide range of buyers is in contrast to Lockheed Martin's last stealth fighter, the now discontinued F-22 "Raptor." It was hailed as a wonder of technology but failed in large part because Congress deemed it too sensitive to sell even to Washington's closest allies. Narushige Michishita, a professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies who has advised the Japanese government on defense issues, said he thinks the F-35 is Japan's best option. "If this was about a Cold War-type competition, then the F-22 would have been better. But if this is a long-term peacetime competition, you need numbers and presence, and close coordination among allies," Michishita said. But defense analyst Carlo Kopp of the private Air Power Australia think tank said he thinks it was a mistake for his country and others to buy in. He said the F-35 program should have been canceled years ago and that the policy of pushing forward with it at any cost only threatens to create a budgetary sinkhole that would weaken the defenses of the U.S. and its allies. "It will never become a viable combat aircraft due to cumulative poor choices made early in the design, and later Band-Aid fixes," Kopp said. Further cost increases could prompt foreign buyers to cut their orders, which would put even more pressure on Lockheed Martin. Other problems also continue to trouble its international partners: Concerns about whether Lockheed will be able to deliver on time prompted Australia to caution that it won't decide until later this year whether to buy any more than the 14 ordered so far. Structural glitches have emerged that compromise the F-35's ability to land on aircraft carriers. That's a big issue for Britain, where the plane is slated to replace its carrier-friendly Harrier jets by 2020. British media have also reported that the F-35 can't fire British air-to-air missiles. Canada and Norway may have difficulty operating the F-35 on icy runways. The plane's single-engine design
- unlike the twin-engine F-22 or F-15 - could also be an issue. If the engine goes out, planes and pilots in the Arctic could be lost.
[Associated
Press;
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