F-35 a failure for US contractors?

Ouch. Aussies send a poor review of Joint Strike Fighter.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/151m-planes-a-disaster/2008/09/13/1220857899066.html

This one could be bad news for the F-35 team. Can you think of a program that is more important to our international reputation right now? Allies are expecting to be tied to eachother through this common, high-value asset.

Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore and Turkey, Israel... these are all countries that have been linked to an expected 3000 unit production run... but are they all married to the program? Probably not, if Russia's latest Sukhoi is really beating the pants off JSF in computer simulations!

I am curious though. How did team F-35 manage to fly a bird that is "too fast for it's tactical targeting," but also "overweight and underpowered", "lacking manueverability", and "too delicate to withstand ground fire". Wow.

Here's a thought. The targeting systems meant for US versions aren't exportable , and the one's spec'd for the Aussie's haven't gotten the right amount of testing/evaluation, yes?

More concerning than the targeting (that should get dialied in), is the weight problem. If team F-35 has managed to build it both heavy and thin skinned... that's a fundamental design issue, no?

Is this just a new tactic to negotiate on price? Odd way to conduct a healthy long-term relationship with your friendly neighborhood Lock-Mart.

What to do? Probably hustle if you're on team F-35, this looks bad for everyone involved.

Other perceptions: This program is still in the testing phase, a few issues or kinks are normal.