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Also see: Joint Strike Fighter; Military;
Jump to: 2017; 2018;
-- 2016 --
December 12: Trump Joins Line of Critics of Costly Fighter Jet
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/12/us/politics/trump-f35-fighter-jet-tweet.html
December 12: Donald Trump Starts a Dogfight With the F-35
The president-elect’s latest morning sortie is against the controversial, budget-busting Joint Strike Fighter, but he may be too late to stop it.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/12/trump-f-35/510329/
December 12: "We're investing hundreds of millions of dollars to reduce the cost of sustaining the airplane over its 30-40 year lifespan," said Lockheed's Jeff Babione in a statement. "We understand the importance of affordability and that's what the F-35 has been about."
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With its 13-figure price tag, the F-35 fighter jet is the Defense Department's most expensive weapons program. As NPR's Philip Ewing reports, the jet was meant to save money in the defense budget by having one aircraft for the armed services as a whole with variants fitting the individual needs of each branch. Selling the jet to allies was conceived of a way to defray the project's massive overheard, but as Philip adds, the project has become "infamous" for its cost and delays
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/12/12/505288991/trump-lambasts-1-trillion-f-35-jet-in-latest-tweet
December 22: Trump suggests he would ditch F-35 in favor of cheaper plane
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/12/22/trump-suggests-he-would-ditch-f-35-in-favor-of-alternate-plane/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.6dc951924ebf
December 23: Lockheed-Martin stock takes second hit from Trump's Twitter blitz on F-35 costs
Shares in the defense company neared their lowest level since the election as the president-elect continues to air his gripes about price of the F-35 fighter jet
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/23/lockheed-martin-f-35-trump-tweet
-- 2017 --
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February 7: How Trump got credit for slashing price of fighter jet when he didn't
The evidence suggests the price reduction for the F-35 was planned long before Trump's Twitter criticism and personal involvement.
Lockheed Martin is praising President Donald Trump’s personal intervention — and obsessive criticism on Twitter — for slashing the price of the long-troubled F-35 fighter jet, the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons program ever.
But the evidence suggests that the price reduction would have happened even without Trump.
The main factors driving down the price of each jet include the fact that the military was planning to order them in larger quantities for U.S. forces and allies, according to company and military officials, lawmakers and a POLITICO review of several years of program data. Earlier pressure from the Obama administration and Congress to shave expenses also played a role.
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/donald-trump-f-35-cost-234719
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September 29: I have a great Cabinet. And we save hundreds of millions of dollars through negotiation. I’ll give you an example. With the F-35 fighter plane – me, myself – I've saved hundreds of millions of dollars in negotiating.”
... Trump takes credit for the lowered cost in the F-35 program, but the Pentagon had announced cost reductions of roughly $600 million before Trump began meeting with Lockheed Martin’s chief executive.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-claims-database/?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.c4a883ef01f0
-- 2018 --
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March 25: F-35 Sale to Taiwan Not Worth the ‘Risk,’ Experts Warn
Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and James Inhofe, R-Okla., said the move to sell stealthy jump jet Joint Strike Fighters could deter “China’s aggressive military posture” in the Asia-Pacific region.
“Taiwan has a legitimate requirement to field a modern fighter fleet to address a myriad of defense contingencies,” they wrote in a letter to Trump on Monday. “Therefore, Taiwan is requesting U.S. support in their procurement of the F-35B.”
But while experts say the F-35B is ideally suited for Taiwan’s military, they warn that it could pose more of a risk than a deterrent.
“You would be upping the ante significantly not just between the Taiwanese and Chinese, but between the United States and China,” said John “JV” Venable, a retired fighter pilot who is now an analyst with the Heritage Foundation. “I’m not sure that’s worth the risk for the United States.”
https://www.defenseone.com/politics/2018/03/f-35-sales-taiwan-not-worth-risk-experts-warn/146970/
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July 24: An F-35 Lightning II was parked in the White House driveway Monday, alongside a speedboat and a giant industrial magnet, as President Donald Trump showcased an array of “Made in America” products.
The administration is pushing back aggressively against critics who say his punishing tariffs on imported goods threaten to harm the U.S. economy.
Trump's event with a smorgasbord of American goods came at the start of a week in which trade discussions are expected to dominate, including talks with European officials and a trip to Illinois in which the president is planning to visit a community helped along by his steel tariffs.
https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/07/24/f-35-parks-on-white-house-lawn/
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July 30: Trump seems to think F-35 is “literally invisible” in flight
Trump repeats a claim that "you can't see" F-35 fighter even when it's right next to you.
"This is an incredible plane. It's stealth—you can't see it. So when I talk to even people from the other side, they're trying to order our plane. They like the fact that you can't see it. I said, "How would it do in battle with your plane?" They say, "Well we have one problem—we can't see your plane." That's a big problem. Stealth, super stealth. The best in the world. We make the best military equipment in the world. Also, remember this: jobs."
This is not the first time Trump has called the F-35 invisible. For instance, in a visit with Coast Guardsmen in Puerto Rico last November, Trump said the F-35 was “almost like an invisible fighter…You can’t see it. You literally can’t see it. It’s hard to fight a plane you can’t see.”
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/07/does-trump-even-know-what-stealth-means/
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August 14: Trump restricts delivery of F-35s to Turkey, deepening rift with NATO ally
President Donald Trump has restricted the delivery of 100 F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, exacerbating the strain between the two NATO allies over Ankara’s continued detention of an American pastor.
Trump on Monday signed a defense authorization act that prohibits the delivery of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to Turkey if it buys Russia’s S-400 air defense system.
The law requires a review of US-Turkey relations, including the US military’s use of Incirlik Air Base, and a risk assessment associated with delivering the stealth fighter jets.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-restricts-delivery-of-f-35s-to-turkey-deepening-rift-with-nato-ally/
September 25: US F-35 fighter jet poised for combat debut
https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/25/politics/us-f-35-combat-missions/index.html
