{"id":136297,"date":"2019-06-12T09:24:20","date_gmt":"2019-06-12T09:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/06\/12\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:22:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:22:13","slug":"faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/home\/middle-column\/2019\/06\/12\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\/","title":{"rendered":"FAQ: Your guide to understanding how the military rates F-35 technical shortfalls"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 Nothing about the F-35 program is easy for the layperson to understand, whether it\u2019s the jet\u2019s logistics and sustainment enterprise, its path for future upgrades, or how the U.S. Defense Department buys the aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/hidden-troubles-f35\/\" target=_blank>Defense News\u2019 investigation<\/a> into the F-35\u2019s remaining critical technology shortfalls, known as category 1 deficiencies, certainly dives into the minutia of technical details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This project, \u201cThe Hidden Troubles of the F-35,\u201d was the result of months of reporting by journalists who have spent years covering the program. It involved interviews with more than a dozen sources, both on and off the record, including officials from the F-35 Joint Program Office, prime contractor Lockheed Martin, fighter pilots, aerospace experts and other stakeholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although each story gives a brief definition of what a category 1 deficiency is, we also thought it would be worth diving into the weeds in this brief primer of how the F-35 program classifies its technical problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>What is a category 1 deficiency?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the definition set by the F-35 program, spelled out in documents exclusively obtained by Defense News, a category 1 deficiency is a shortfall that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>could cause death, severe injury or illness.<\/li><li>could cause loss or damage to the aircraft or its equipment.<\/li><li>critically restricts the operator\u2019s ability to be ready for combat.<\/li><li>prevents the jet from performing well enough to accomplish its primary or secondary missions.<\/li><li>results in a work stoppage at the production line.<\/li><li>blocks mission-critical test points.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After Defense News began asking the F-35 Joint Program Office about its category 1 deficiencies, it decided to group them into CAT 1-As, which are problems like \u201closs of life, potential loss of life, [or] loss of material aircraft\u201d that \u201chave to be corrected within hours [or] days,&#8221; according to Vice Adm. Mat Winter, the F-35\u2032s program executive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All of the F-35\u2032s current deficiencies are CAT 1-Bs, which \u201chave a mission impact with a current workaround that\u2019s acceptable to the war fighter.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Does the F-35 program office use a different definition for the CAT 1 deficiency than the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In short, yes, and the F-35\u2019s definition appears to include a wider variety of problems \u2014 specifically issues that block mission-critical test points or that already have some kind of a workaround in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force labels a problem CAT 1 if it can cause death, severe injury, or loss or major damage to the aircraft; if it restricts the ability for the aircraft to accomplish a mission; or if it results in a production line stoppage, but only if there is no known acceptable workaround \u2014 which could cause the F-35 program office to label some problems as CAT 1 when the Air Force would label it CAT 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the Air Force also defines a category 1 deficiency as a problem that &#8220;adversely affects technical, cost or schedule risks to the project or to the life cycle support of the system,&#8221; a departure from the F-35 program\u2019s definition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Navy and the Marine Corps have the shortest definition of a CAT 1 deficiency, but leaves much open to interpretation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under the definition used by those two services, a category 1 shortfall causes a \u201chigh probability\u201d of loss of aircraft control, equipment damage or injury while trying to accomplish a mission of the aircraft, or it poses a \u201csevere hazard\u201d to weapon system or personnel. It also includes problems where \u201cadequate performance [is] not obtainable\u201d or that the operator must exert \u201cexcessive compensation\u201d to accomplish the platform\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>So these CAT 1 problems are obviously the services\u2019 biggest priorities to fix, right? <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not necessarily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Category 1 deficiencies are given that rating because they can include major problems that could impede a critical mission of the jet or can result in pilot injury, death or the loss of an aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But some of the F-35\u2032s most serious problems have only been known to happen a handful of times \u2014 in situations where the aircraft was being pushed to its limits \u2014 and they have not reoccurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For that reason, sometimes problems with a less serious designation could have more of a day-to-day impact on operators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For instance, the Air Force\u2019s biggest priority is a grouping of deficiencies \u2014 all in need of small software fixes \u2014 that are related to battlefield awareness, said Maj. Darren Woodside, an F-35A pilot with the service\u2019s F-35 integration office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another priority is a separate set of lower-grade shortfalls that would improve weapons employment displays and the pilot\u2019s interfaces while targeting threats in air-to-ground missions, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While none of these issues currently are category 1 deficiencies, fixing them would allow pilots to access information more easily and conduct missions more effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe individual impact of any [deficiency reports] is small, but the resolution of the group will provide a much higher level of capability,\u201d Woodside told Defense News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Where can I find more information?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Check out our webpage that is dedicated to this project: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/hidden-troubles-f35\/\" target=_blank>https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/hidden-troubles-f35\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Confused about what it means for the F-35 to have a deficiency? We have your primer here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":115585,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":117,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[29,117],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3297],"class_list":["post-136297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-middle-column"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"C2PZ4P44JRDTTAOSIEY62OCJGM","arc_canonical_url":"\/smr\/hidden-troubles-f35\/2019\/06\/12\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>FAQ: Your guide to understanding how the military rates F-35 technical shortfalls - Military Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Confused about what it means for the F-35 to have a deficiency? We have your primer here.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"FAQ: Your guide to understanding how the military rates F-35 technical shortfalls\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Confused about what it means for the F-35 to have a deficiency? We have your primer here.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/home\/middle-column\/2019\/06\/12\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Military Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-12T09:24:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T00:22:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Valerie Insinna\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Valerie Insinna\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/home\\\/middle-column\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/12\\\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/home\\\/middle-column\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/12\\\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"FAQ: Your guide to understanding how the military rates F-35 technical shortfalls\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-06-12T09:24:20+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T00:22:13+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/home\\\/middle-column\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/12\\\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 840,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/home\\\/middle-column\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/12\\\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5219149.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"Middle Column\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/home\\\/middle-column\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/12\\\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/home\\\/middle-column\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/12\\\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/home\\\/middle-column\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/12\\\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"FAQ: Your guide to understanding how the military rates F-35 technical shortfalls - Military Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/home\\\/middle-column\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/12\\\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/home\\\/middle-column\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/12\\\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5219149.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-06-12T09:24:20+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T00:22:13+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Confused about what it means for the F-35 to have a deficiency? We have your primer here.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/home\\\/middle-column\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/12\\\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/home\\\/middle-column\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/12\\\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/home\\\/middle-column\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/12\\\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5219149.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5219149.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/home\\\/middle-column\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/12\\\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/home\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Middle Column\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/home\\\/middle-column\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"middle-column\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 4,\n\t                    \"name\": \"FAQ: Your guide to understanding how the military rates F-35 technical shortfalls\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Military Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News About Your Military | Military Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Military Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/military-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/military-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Military Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"FAQ: Your guide to understanding how the military rates F-35 technical shortfalls - Military Times","description":"Confused about what it means for the F-35 to have a deficiency? We have your primer here.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"FAQ: Your guide to understanding how the military rates F-35 technical shortfalls","og_description":"Confused about what it means for the F-35 to have a deficiency? We have your primer here.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/home\/middle-column\/2019\/06\/12\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\/","og_site_name":"Military Times","article_published_time":"2019-06-12T09:24:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T00:22:13+00:00","author":"Valerie Insinna","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Valerie Insinna","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/home\/middle-column\/2019\/06\/12\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/home\/middle-column\/2019\/06\/12\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"FAQ: Your guide to understanding how the military rates F-35 technical shortfalls","datePublished":"2019-06-12T09:24:20+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T00:22:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/home\/middle-column\/2019\/06\/12\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\/"},"wordCount":840,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/home\/middle-column\/2019\/06\/12\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5219149.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Home","Middle Column"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/home\/middle-column\/2019\/06\/12\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/home\/middle-column\/2019\/06\/12\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/home\/middle-column\/2019\/06\/12\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\/","name":"FAQ: Your guide to understanding how the military rates F-35 technical shortfalls - Military Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/home\/middle-column\/2019\/06\/12\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/home\/middle-column\/2019\/06\/12\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5219149.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2019-06-12T09:24:20+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T00:22:13+00:00","description":"Confused about what it means for the F-35 to have a deficiency? We have your primer here.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/home\/middle-column\/2019\/06\/12\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/home\/middle-column\/2019\/06\/12\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/home\/middle-column\/2019\/06\/12\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5219149.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5219149.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/home\/middle-column\/2019\/06\/12\/faq-your-guide-to-understanding-how-the-military-rates-f-35-technical-shortfalls\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/home\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Middle Column","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/home\/middle-column\/","ad_zone":"middle-column"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"FAQ: Your guide to understanding how the military rates F-35 technical shortfalls"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/","name":"Military Times","description":"Independent News About Your Military | Military Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#organization","name":"Military Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/military-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/military-logo-white.png","caption":"Military Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Military Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5219149.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136297"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":136298,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136297\/revisions\/136298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136297"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=136297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}