It’s no secret Donald Trump has his doubts about the F-35. Even when you’re not talking about the F-35.
Asked by radio host Hugh Hewitt on Thursday if the country needs a new strategic bomber, Donald Trump responded by listing criticisms of the F-35, including complaints from test pilots and findings that suggest older aircraft may perform better in some cases.
“Last week, the Pentagon announced they gave the B-3, the strategic bomber contract to Northrop Grumman, and that’s going to be billions and billions of dollars,” Hewitt said. “Do we need a strategic bomber, Donald Trump? Or should we just stick with submarines and missiles? And if so, do you think it has to cost that much?”
Trump responded: “Now when you talk about the bomber, here’s what I don’t like. I have been reading, and I read one article in particular, where the pilots, and these are great test pilots, and pilots generally, but pilots in testing it said our old planes are better. They perform better. They handle better. Every aspect, they were saying they’re better.”
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Hewitt gave him another chance to recover and talk about the bomber.
“A lot of people like the F-18 Super Hornet more than the F-35, but this B-3, the strategic bomber, I think we have to have a bomber, but I will probably be bringing this up in Las Vegas, and I want you to be ready for it, along with all of the other candidates, because I think we need to have a national security conversation, don’t we, on that debate stage?” Hewitt said.
Trump reverted to speaking about Lockheed Martin’s F-35. “We do, and it’s got to be reasonable, and it’s got to be, we have to get a lot more, we have to get a lot more for our buck. We’re putting up the dollars, we’re spending unbelievable dollars, and when you talk about planes costing that amount of money, can it be done for less? I guarantee you it can be done for not less, but much, much less. But you check this out. The pilots that were testing it did not like it as much as the old equipment. That’s not good,” Trump said.
Aside from the differences between fighter jets and stealth bombers, the two programs are in different stages of development. The tri-service F-35 has been deemed operational for the Marine Corps and carrier testing just wrapped up for the Navy variant. The long range strike-bomber, on the other hand, hasn’t been developed yet. The contract that was awarded last week marked a “down-select” between bids offered by Northrop Grumman and a team of Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Therefore, test pilots are years away from having the chance to complain about that aircraft.
Next week, Trump, along with seven other Republican candidates, will meet for the fourth time at a debate hosted by Fox Business Network and the Wall Street Journal.
