A small batch of the highly anticipated — and much-criticized — F-35B Joint Strike Fighter jets have been approved for combat use by the Marines.
Gen. Joseph Dunford, Marine Corps commandant, declared Friday an initial squadron of 10 of the Lockheed Martin jets ready for combat, according to multiple news reports.
The decision makes the Marines the first U.S. military service to declare an “initial operational capability” of the F-35 fighter, a major milestone in the nearly $400 billion program after 18 years of cost overruns and schedule delays.
In a statement Friday, Air Force Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, the F-35 program executive officer, called the decision the “first significant event for the program.”
“The weapons system is now in the warfighters’ hands and can be called upon to do its mission,” he said, NPR reported.
The announcement comes just days after Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said that the jet has “taken us too long [and] has cost us way more money than we ever imagined possible,” NPR reported.
The Marine version of the aircraft can take off on a shorter runway and land like a helicopter. There are other versions in development for the Air Force (F-35A) and Navy (F-35C).
The program has been heavily criticized over the years for its overall cost and schedule delays. The price for just one airplane averages an estimated $135 million, with the Navy and Marine versions considerably more expensive than the more conventional Air Force model, NPR reported.
Earlier this month, the Air Force version of the jet was criticized in a scathing report when test pilots found that it struggled in a dogfight with an older plane it is meant to replace.
The F-35Bs are expected to deploy in Iwakuni, Japan, in 2017.
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
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