I don't see how the United States Air Force--the alleged biggest buyer of the F-35--is going to recapitalize its fighter force.
USAF says they are committed to the F-35 but their own plans and programs office--who tell the boss what can actually be purchased with available money--see it different.
In one year of budget planning, the USAF F-35 program has been cut by one-third.
Have a look at how the fiscal year (FY) 2012 predictions went.
In FY 2011 USAF predicted a buy of 24 F-35s for FY 2012. In early FY 2012 budget documents F-35 predicted buys for FY 2012 stated 19 F-35s. Recently, they just pulled 3 F-35s from their FY2012 budget request resulting in 16 aircraft.
Also in FY 2011, USAF predicted buying 33 F-35s for FY 2013; 53 F-35s for FY 2014 and 70 F-35s for FY 2015.
It is doubtful those numbers mean anything.
