Bar none, the F-35 Lightning II is the hottest fighter jet in the world. Israel’s F-35’s led the October attack on Iran’s air defenses, and last year, their F-35s tracked and shot down an incoming cruise missile. Two U.S. Air Force F-35s just landed on a highway in Finland, while a Japanese F-35 intercepted an intruding Russian patrol plane. More U.S. F-35s are in the Middle East and the Marine Corps F-35C is aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in US Central Command’s area of responsibility.

In years ahead, the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and 18 allies and partner nations are counting on the F-35 to shoulder many roles, from exotic electronic warfare to working with drones. But these advanced missions are in danger unless the F-35 Joint Program Office figures out a fast fix for the F-35 cooling system.

“Due to the massive leap in cooling and power needed to support post-2029 mission system upgrades on the F-35, the existing Power and Thermal Management System (PTMS) will need to either be massively upgraded or replaced,” the USAF has said.

Of course, this is the F-35 program, where nothing is ever easy. So, while the stealth jet itself is phenomenal, the mammoth F-35 program is once again taking too long to act. The Defense Department funded the upgrade program in FY 2024, and requested........

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