Pentagon tries to rebrand the beleaguered $400 billion F-35 with a 14-stop tour

[unhappycamper]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/03/24/pentagon-tries-to-rebrand-the-beleaguered-400-billion-f-35-using-14-city-tour/



Pentagon tries to rebrand the beleaguered $400 billion F-35 with a 14-stop tour
By Christian Davenport
March 24 at 5:15 PM

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is embarking on a 14-stop tour this year, coming out like a debutante at the ball as Pentagon officials seek to bolster the beleaguered image of the most expensive weapons system in history.

Although the $400 billion program has suffered years of delay and billions of dollars in cost overruns, one of the main problems the stealthy fighter jet faces is its poor standing in the realm of public perception, defense officials say. But with the program showing signs of stabilizing and production ramping up, the Pentagon sees what marketing executives call a “branding refresh” opportunity and plans to showcase the sleek jet at a series of airshows and events across the country.

“The public perception and the reality are so different,” Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan told a congressional subcommittee Wednesday. “Getting out there and telling the story is part of what we need to continue to do.”

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Critics have derided the program as the “plane that ate the Pentagon,” and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has said that the high cost means that the Defense Department won’t be able to afford all 2,443 of the planes it initially planned to buy. So far it has delivered more than 170 of the planes to the Defense Department and foreign allies.