The Media Is Flat-Out Wrong: The U.S. Military Needs the F-35 Every few years or so, national media rediscover that the F-35 fighter is the Pentagon’s costliest weapons program. Then, predictably, they get all of the facts wrong. Know this: the F-35 has already proven it is more lethal, versatile, and survivable than any fighter that came before. It has to be. Every few years or so, national media rediscover that the F-35 fighter is the Pentagon’s costliest weapons program. What follows with herdlike predictability is a feeding frenzy of misinformation that undermines support for what is actually a highly successful program.