--- title: "The Air Force wants airmen to say nice things about the troubled F-35" date: "2018-04-02" modified: "2020-10-21" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/air-force-wants-airmen-say-nice-things-flying-lemon/" categories: - "Aircraft" - "Military News" - "Tactical" --- # The Air Force wants airmen to say nice things about the troubled F-35 ![]() Taking a page from the 2006 self-help book *The Secret*, the United States Air Force believes saying good things about the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will make them come true. In an eight-page For Official Use Only (FOUO) memo to its public affairs offices, the Air Force gives detailed instructions on how to say only nice things about the troubled weapons system. --- The estimated price tag of the 14-year-old Joint Strike Fighter program now tops [$1.5 trillion](). The Air Force, a service that has trouble keeping track of the cost of its new weapons systems, is pushing the fighter as a weapon designed for the "entire battle space." The problems with the fighter are mounting, well beyond the battle space. ![]() *This is the space where it gets the most help.* A recent [RAND]() corporation study found the fundamentals of the F-35 design to be "double inferior to Chinese and Russian designs." Other comments from the RAND study include: "Inferior acceleration, inferior climb, inferior sustained turn capability. Also has lower top speed." Earlier in 2015, the F-35 lost a [dogfight]() to the F-16, a jet from the 1970s. If that wasn't enough, the Air Force and Lockheed only just recently figured out what kept causing their engines to [ignite]() on takeoff. Finally, the Air Force is taking a lot of flak (see what I did there?) from Congress and a community of military members who support the A-10 Thunderbolt II (aka [the Warthog]()). In an effort to put billions toward the F-35, the Air Force is trying to forcefully retire the A-10's close air support mission in favor of the new stealth fighter, even though the F-35's gun won't fire until [2019](). The Air Force Public Affairs Agency's communications theme is "Lethal, Survivable, and Adaptive." Lethal is a strange choice for an airframe whose weapons won't be operational for another four years. Survivable is good to know if you're piloting a plane whose engine is known to ignite. Adaptive is good for cost sharing with Coalition partners, because all of this stuff is really expensive. ![]() Pictured: a $300 Million Bonfire It's so expensive that in July of this year, the USAF released a 20-year strategic [forecast]() titled "America's Air Force: A Call to the Future," which calls for an end to big-ticket programs like the F-35. That report says it's no longer possible to build a strategy advantage with large, expensive programs that take years to complete. Yet Lockheed and the U.S. military hope to produce 2,400 of the F-35s over 20 years. The public affairs memo coaches public affairs officers how to address other questions, like the fighter's $400,000 [helmet](), the advanced technology the U.S. is sharing with [11 countries](), or the fact that the F-35 is bad at [long range]() power projection. After addressing concerns about the F-35, the Air Force believes it will see "U.S. opinion leaders, the American public and international partners are reassured and have confidence in the capability and can articulate why the F-35 is required for national defense." Are you reassured yet, American public? ![]() *USAF Public Affairs: Puttin' out fires left and right* ### Now: [The B-29 Superfortress debuted 73 years ago – relive it's legacy in photos]() ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()