It seemed like a great idea at the time. When Lockheed Martin won the contract in 2001 to develop what became known as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the aim was to produce a relatively cheap tactical aircraft with radar-beating stealth capa- bility that would replace at least four other types in service. The biggest military programme in history would not only provide the backbone of America's fighter fleet for the next 50 years but would also bring in sales from the United States' closest allies. At least 3,000 F-35S would be ordered from the outset (over 2,400 by America alone). The result would be huge efficiency savings, initially from the scale of production and subsequently from the Southwest Airlines model of running just one basic type of aircraft across 90% of the fleet. De-
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