RIGHT SPEAK: Marines Say Costly F-35 Jet Fighter Is Finally Ready

Purchase of Lockheed Martin’s aircraft will cost Pentagon almost $400 billion over 30 years

The U.S. Marine Corps on Friday said the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is finally ready for combat, a milestone for the world’s most expensive weapons program and one that is likely to shift debate to the jet’s capabilities.

The announcement by Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford comes almost 14 years after Lockheed Martin Corp. beat out Boeing Co. for the F-35 military contract, with the Pentagon planning to spend almost $400 billion to develop and buy more than 2,400 jets.

The declaration of initial operating capability, or IOC, means the first squadron of 10 F-35B jets based at Yuma Air Force Base in Arizona can now be called up to fight. There was a final assessment of their operation, maintenance and training readiness earlier in July. The first aircraft aren’t scheduled to be deployed overseas until 2017, when a squadron is due to be stationed in Japan.

The F-35B model is the most expensive of three versions of the jet being developed, with the latest models costing around $134 million each. They can take off and land from short runways or vertically like a helicopter.

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The F-35 is entering the fray more than four years late, and costs have spiraled to twice their original estimate, which has made it the subject of debate and criticism. The Marines’ move is expected to push supporters and critics alike to focus on the jet’s capabilities rather than just its cost.

Mandy Smithberger, a director at the Project on Government Oversight, said the Marines were determined to meet their July target even if the plane wasn’t fully ready. “We don’t think this is a genuine IOC,” said Ms. Smithberger, whose watchdog group has been a critic of the F-35 program.