Biden’s Air Force nominee promises to buy more F-35s, bring down skyrocketing costs

President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Air Force told senators the best way to bring down the service’s skyrocketing bills to operate its aging fleet would be to buy more Lightning IIs — despite a myriad of unresolved flaws with the troubled fifth-generation jet.

Seventy percent of the Air Force’s overall weapons budget goes to sustainment costs, keeping its ever-aging fleet of combat planes in shape to fly. Couple that with a smaller-than-planned F-22 Raptor buy and developmental quagmires on the companion F-35, and the service faces challenges to fulfill all its missions.