65 flaws, 12 accidents… Why is Trump hell-bent on giving such junk F-35 jets to India, even Elon Musk has called them useless

On January 28 this year, an F-35A fighter plane crashed during a training session at Eielson US Air Force Base in Alaska. This incident once again raised questions about the safety, reliability and operational capability of this controversial aircraft. The only good thing is that in this case, the pilot got out safely as soon as he realized the fault during the flight. Now US President Donald Trump said in a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that America will sell the state-of-the-art F-35 fighter aircraft to India. With this, India will join the exclusive club of countries with state-of-the-art stealth aircraft. But, the big question is why Trump is bent on giving such flawed F-35 fighter aircraft to India.

More than 1,000 F-35s were given to many countries of the world

The F-35 Lightning II is a fifth-generation fighter aircraft developed by American aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, whose first flight took place in December 2006. It represents a major advancement in military aviation. It includes advanced stealth capabilities, advanced avionics and modern weapons. However, it is a relatively heavy platform with a distinctive small-wing design. So far, more than 1,000 aircraft have been delivered to the US military and global partners.

12 accidents with F-35 aircraft since 2018

Many flaws are being found in F-35 aircraft. At least 12 accidents have occurred since 2018. There are also concerns about its reliability, maintenance, project delays and cost overruns. Given so many problems with the F-35, questions have been raised about the future of manned fighter aircraft.

Musk has also called the F-35 aircraft useless

In November last year, SpaceX owner Elon Musk uploaded a video on X in a post, in which hundreds of small drones were seen together. At that time, he said that some idiots are still making manned fighter jets like the F-35. In the era of drones, manned fighter jets have become obsolete anyway. This will only kill pilots. Piloted fighter jets are an inefficient way to increase the range of missiles or drop bombs. At the same time, a drone can do this work without a human pilot.

Why are F-35 aircraft becoming junk, know

Many reports suggest that most of the problems in F-35 aircraft are due to the complexity of the aircraft. The F-35 processes a very large amount of data, which can be very troublesome for pilots. Apart from this, many of its important systems often malfunction. In May 2020, an F-35A aircraft of the 58th Fighter Squadron crashed while landing at Eglin Air Force Base. The cause of this accident was the pilot’s error due to fatigue, design problems in the oxygen system, complex nature of the aircraft, malfunction of the head-mounted display and non-functioning of the flight control system.

This ‘junk’ was proved in the Pentagon’s own report

America has been claiming that its F-35 fighter aircraft is a super fighter jet. The F-35 is equipped with stealth features, which no radar can detect. Last year, a Pentagon report said that this fighter aircraft is not able to fulfill its operational capability. The Pentagon report states that the F-35 has 65 operational flaws. The report alleges that due to these deficiencies, the F-35 aircraft fails to meet basic test specifications.

50 percent of F-35s in the US Air Force are not airworthy

In September 2023, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that more than half of the US Air Force’s F-35 fleet is not airworthy at any time. The report said that the supply of these aircraft is being delayed due to immature and inadequate Block 4 mission system software and avionics problems in the F-35 development cycle.

Why are F-35 fighter planes rusting?

In January 2022, an F-35A aircraft of the South Korean Air Force made a belly landing after all systems except the flight controls and engines failed. The pilot survived in both cases. In addition to reliability and maintenance challenges, the F-35 fighter fleet has struggled with reliability, maintenance problems and delivery delays. An annual Pentagon report in January 2025 said the F-35 program had shown no improvement in meeting schedule and performance deadlines for the development and testing of software designed to address deficiencies and add new capabilities.

It takes 172 days to repair the plane

According to the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) in April 2024, the estimated cost to maintain the F-35 has been steadily increasing, while the planned use of the aircraft has decreased. The overall availability of the F-35 fleet has declined significantly over the past 5 years. No version of the aircraft has been able to meet its target. The mission-capable rate of the F-35 fleet was well below program goals. The report attributed this shortfall to maintenance and repair issues. In fact, it takes 172 days to repair this aircraft, which is a long time.

Delay in delivery deadline is also a reason

Meeting the delivery deadline is also a major challenge of the F-35 program. The F-35’s advanced systems and capabilities make it one of the most complex fighter jets ever built. The aircraft is also often called a flying computer. It is equipped with many sensors, processing systems and integration capabilities that handle a large data of signals. This complexity can lead to unexpected technical issues and complicate maintenance procedures.

F-35 aircraft rule the skies, but challenges remain

Lockheed Martin has said in a report on its F-35 Lightning II program that 110 F-35s will be delivered in 2024 and about 1,100 F-35 jets have been delivered worldwide in all variants. The program’s fleet has recorded nearly 1 million flight hours. The F-35 fighter jet represents a leap in technology, but its safety record and maintenance challenges cannot be ignored.

Why are they selling the planes despite so many flaws?

Many big plane manufacturing companies like Lockheed Martin put pressure on the US government. Many big leaders also have money invested in it. In such a situation, pressure is exerted to give these planes to their allied countries.