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|Author=Dylan Dickens

|Series=Applied Innovation

|Graphics status=None

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The F-35 Lightning II program between the United States and Lockheed Martin has been described as the perfect example of a modern military R&D disaster. The fighter jet, with its plans to wield literal laser weapons(1), and fulfill multiple roles from stealth to vertical takeoff(2) sounds like something out of science fiction. The program's lofty goals and many setbacks however have caused a political and financial uproar with Politico calling the project "$163 billion over budget [and] seven years behind schedule(3)." From the GAO warnings as far back as 2006(4) that the project would run over budget, to a report in 2015(5) that the F-35 would be "unable to enter realistic combat scenarios unsupported," its safe to declare the project less than a success.