The US Navy is facing problems developing the F-35C fighter jet.

According to the latest reports of the US Navy, this force is having problems building a naval tactical aircraft force until 2030 due to the too expensive cost of the 5th generation fighter aircraft, the naval version of the F-35C.

US Navy officials remain skeptical about the F-35C's combat capabilities and are concerned that spending too much financial resources on purchasing this 5th generation aircraft could affect the development program for the 6th generation naval fighter called F/A-XX.

According to the report, the total cost of the F-35 or Joint Strike Fighter - JSF project has reached the milestone of 1.5 trillion USD, many times larger than the initial estimate. This has increased the cost of each finished F-35 aircraft, including the F-35C version. In addition, the F-35 aircraft is facing a series of design problems and software errors that need to be fixed.

F-35C fighter jet for the US Navy. Photo: Defencenews.

“The cost of $337 million per F-35C aircraft could cause the US Navy to turn its back on this fifth-generation fighter,” said an anonymous US Navy official.

The lack of significant budget allocations combined with the rising cost of the F-35C aircraft may force the US Navy to reduce the number of aircraft ordered. According to public information, each squadron of F/A-18E/F Super Hornet (nicknamed “Hornets”) should be replaced with 12 new F-35Cs, but the actual number will be only 10 aircraft due to lack of finance.

It is worth noting that the high cost of the F-35C aircraft is not due to the production process, but mainly due to costs incurred during the development process and slow progress.

“With a fixed budget allocation and no additional resources, the US Navy’s only option is to reduce the number of F-35Cs it can order,” Jerry Hendrix, an expert at the Center for American Security Studies, told The National Interest magazine. According to Mr. J. Hendrix, the US Navy wants to convert all financial resources for purchasing F-35Cs to the F/A-XX program, which is being developed more based on the US Navy’s requirements. However, this idea does not receive support from the Pentagon.

According to sources collected by The National Interest, the F/A-XX aircraft has many similarities with the US Navy's current F/A-18E/F naval aircraft. It is very likely that the F/A-XX is a deeply upgraded version of the "Hornets" with optimized aerodynamic shape, stealth capabilities and advanced electronic technology. This is also understandable because many US Navy officials came from F/A-18 pilots.

“They (the US Navy) really wanted to delay the F-35C purchase until the F/A-XX, the next-generation aircraft designed to meet the US Navy’s requirements, came out. However, this did not receive support from the Pentagon,” said Mr. J. Hendrix.

According to QDND