Cap Times Editorial link | 19 May 2021
“The authoritative publication Defense News reported late last month that key members of Congress are objecting to proposals to increase funding for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 joint strike fighters in the upcoming fiscal 2022 budget. They say they will not support any increase until the Pentagon and the manufacturer address what Defense News refers to as “a laundry list of problems” with the planes.
Officials in Wisconsin should be paying close attention to the growing debate over the F-35 boondoggle, as the U.S. Air Force plans to station a squadron of F-35 fighter jets at Truax Field in Madison.
There is a lot of opposition to that move in Madison, especially from residents of the Eken Park neighborhood, which is located not far from Truax. But people who don’t live anywhere near that east-side neighborhood over which the planes would fly should also be concerned about the prospect of basing these messed-up planes in Madison.
Noting the many problems with the planes, U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, the California Democrat who leads the defense readiness subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, said in April, “The program is over budget. It fails to deliver on promised capabilities. And its mission capability rates do not even begin to meet the service thresholds.”
