F-35 Office Ignorantly Posts Wrong Aircraft Image on Veterans Day
- On November 11, 2024, the F-35 Joint Program Office posted an inaccurate image of an aircraft on social media.
- The image shared resembled a Chinese military aircraft rather than the F-35 Lightning II.
- This blunder highlights ongoing issues within military public affairs and raises concerns about the JPO's focus on readiness and cost management.
On Veterans Day, November 11, 2024, the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) posted an image on social media that inaccurately depicted the F-35 aircraft. Instead of showing the correct fighter jet, the image featured an aircraft resembling the twin-engine Chinese J-35, raising questions about the expertise of the staff responsible for representing America's primary aircraft. The JPO's blunder isn't an isolated incident; various branches of the U.S. military have faced similar public relations errors in the past, prompting a discussion about attention to detail within military communication. The F-35 JPO has been preoccupied with issues such as missed readiness goals and increasing costs, perhaps explaining this lapse in representation, especially during a significant national observance.