Aircraft
F-35 Report Card Gives Thumbs-Down to Block Buy
Various issues still remain that are likely to put partner nations off the block buys the U.S. wants.
A Paveway IV precision-guided bomb is shown being released from an F-35B Lightning II during initial testing in mid-2015.
A Paveway IV precision-guided bomb is shown being released from an F-35B Lightning II during initial testing in mid-2015.

Singapore is “in the advanced stages of evaluating the F-35,” according to its air force chief. The U.S. has been asking other partner countries on the Lightning II to commit to a block buy. But that prospect has now receded for a couple of years, after the latest report on the stealth fighter by the Pentagon’s own weapons tester, released on February 1.