IT’S BEEN A tough road for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the next generation fighter jet running years behind schedule and billions over budget. But, the Air Force says, better late and crazy expensive than never. In its first serious test, the F-35 proved that given the chance, it can wreak havoc in the skies.
That test was Red Flag, the Air Force’s annual, weeks-long, all-hands-on-deck, multinational shakedown of military aviation technology. In the skies over the Nevada desert, drones run recon drills. Electronic-warfare planes jam signals and hunt enemies.
