After the Pentagon announced it was increasing funds for the new model of the F-35 by another $289 million -- on top of the $379.4 billion already allocated to the program -- criticism of the ballooning budget has been sharp. As Winslow Wheeler writes for Foreign Policy, "[T]he F-35 will replace most of the air-combat aircraft in the inventories of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and at least nine foreign allies, and it will be in those inventories for the next 55 years. It's no secret, however, that the program -- the most expensive in American history -- is a calamity."
Here's a visual tour of the planes that have caused all this controversy, a few of the alternative fighter jet models, and a sample of other designs of American planes.
Above, fighter crew chief Tech. Sgt. Brian West watches his aircraft approach for the first time at Eglin Air Force Base on July 14, 2011.
U.S. Air Force via Flickr
It's not only that the F-35 accounts for a whopping 38 percent of Pentagon procurement spending. Critics also note that the plane's scheduled rollout has already been delayed for nearly a decade, and the deployment date continues to be pushed back.
Above, a pilot with the 58th Fighter Squadron passes his helmet to an aircraft maintainer after bringing the first U.S. Air Force F-35 Lightning II "Joint Strike Fighter" (JSF) to its new home at the Eglin Air Force Base on July 14, 2011.
U.S. Air Force via Flickr
The concept for the F-35 was designed by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, as part of its search for a jet that could have short takeoffs and vertical landings while also traveling at supersonic speeds.
Aboove, an F-35 soars over northwest Florida before landing at Eglin Air Force Base. Its operator, Lt. Col. Eric Smith of the 58th Fighter Squadron, was the first Air Force-qualified JSF pilot.
U.S. Air Force via Flickr
U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley talks about the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter during the inauguration ceremony at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas, on July 7, 2006.
Mike Fuentes/Bloomberg via Getty Images
But the problems with the F-35 began almost as soon as production began. The Pentagon could not decide whether the plane should be designed primarily as a bomber, an air-to-air fighter, or a stealth aircraft. Critics like Wheeler claim that in their attempt to include many functional dimensions, the F-35's designers essentially failed at delivering any.
Above, the U.S. Air Force's F-35 taxis at Eglin Air Force Base, becoming the first such aircraft to arrive to its new home at Eglin.
U.S. Air Force via Flickr
Hundreds of F-35s will be produced before the jet has been properly tested -- meaning that the aircraft's financial and political backers remain largely in the dark about what they have been supporting. Wheeler describes the result as a "virtual flying piano" -- a plane that lacks agility and also the payload capacity for bombing runs.
Above, Sgt. Brian West guides an F-35 to a stop for the first time at Eglin Air Force Base.
U.S. Air Force via Flickr
The Air Force's first JSF pilot, Lt. Col. Eric Smith of the 58th Fighter Squadron, looks at the monitor in his F-35 after flying the aircraft to Eglin Air Force Base on July 14, 2011.
U.S. Air Force via Flickr
Even the "stealth" components of the F-35, which its supporters are fond of heralding, do not actually render the planes invisible to radar. Wheeler explains that rather the F-35's "limited-detection ranges against some radar types at some angles."
Above, the first F-35 joint strike fighter at Eglin.
U.S. Air Force via Flickr
Lt. Col. Eric Smith of the 58th Fighter Squadron taxis his squadron's newest aircraft to Eglin on July 14, 2011.
U.S. Air Force via Flickr
"It's time," Wheeler writes, "for Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, the U.S. military services, and Congress to face the facts: The F-35 is an unaffordable mediocrity, and the program will not be fixed by any combination of hardware tweaks or cost-control projects. There is only one thing to do with the F-35: Junk it. America's air forces deserve a much better aircraft, and the taxpayers deserve a much cheaper one. The dustbin awaits.
Above, an F-35 soars over Destin, Florida.
U.S. Air Force via Flickr
But here's the good news for air-power enthusiasts: Viable alternatives to the Joint Strike Fighter exist. Indeed, the F-35 aside, the United States has a long history of manufacturing the world's finest fighter jets. Above, an F-16 takes off from Leeuwarden Airbase for the Italian island of Sardinia on March 24, 2011.
ROBIN UTRECHT/AFP/Getty Images
F-16 "Thunderbirds" from the U.S. Air Force air demonstration squadron fly over Kogalniceanu airport, on June 8, 2011. The United States and Romania are negotiating the purchase of second-hand F-16 combat aircraft.
DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP/Getty Images
A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft flies over South Korea on March 20 during an exercise flight, as part of an operational readiness exercise at Kunsan Air Base. These drills help ensure the skills and capabilities of operators, maintainers, and supporting agencies so they can operate effectively and safely in wartime conditions.
Staff Sgt. Rasheen A. Douglas, U.S. Air Force
U.S. Air Force F-16 planes demonstrate an "Elephant Walk" as they taxi down the runway during an exercise on March 2 in South Korea. The exercise showcased Kunsan Air Base aircrews' capability to quickly and safely prepare an aircraft for a wartime mission.
Senior Airman Brittany Y. Auld, U.S. Air Force
The F-22 Raptor, shown here on October 3, 2011, holds its weapons inside the fuselage to make radar detection more difficult. The Raptor is capable of flying at twice the speed of sound and can lock on a flying target at far greater distances than any other aircraft, Air Force officials said.
AFP/AFP/Getty Images
An F-22 Raptor flies in this undated image provided by Lockheed Martin. The first Raptor joined the 27th Fighter Squadron at Langley Air Force Base on October 27, 2004, after leaving Lockheed's plant in Marietta, Georgia.
Lockheed Martin via Getty Images
Clockwise from bottom left, an F-15 flies with a P-51, an F-22, and an F-4 during the Joint Services Open House and Air Show May 16, 2008, at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images
An F-14 Tomcat fighter leads a formation comprised of F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters on October 29, 2002, over Pula, Croatia. U.S. Navy aviation squadrons assigned to Carrier Air Wing 17 sent a detachment to Croatia to participate in Joint Wings 2002, a multinational exercise designed to practice gathering intelligence.
Dana Potts/U.S. Navy/Getty Images
A U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft from Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, N.Y., launches flares over Lake Ontario during a training exercise on Aug. 10, 2011. Flares can be launched from an aircraft as a defensive measure against hostile forces.
Staff Sgt. Joseph McKee, U.S. Air Force
A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighter deploys countermeasure flares on Nov. 12, 2008, over Afghanistan.
Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon, U.S. Air Force
A U.S. Air Force C-17A Globemaster III cargo aircraft performs evasive countermeasures by launching flares during a an exercise on Nov. 16, 2011, over the Nevada Test and Training Range.
Senior Airman Brett Clashman, U.S. Air Force
A U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II simulates its air-to-ground capabilities during the Aviation Nation Open House in Nevada on Nov. 12, 2011.
Tech. Sgt. Bob Sommer, U.S. Air Force
U.S. Air Force C-130J "Super" Hercules cargo aircraft fly in a 10-ship formation over southern Germany on Oct. 5, 2011, during Europe's first Full-Spectrum Training Environment rotation.
Senior Airman Stephen J. Otero, U.S. Air Force
