IT’S BEEN A DEBACLE: Donald Trump Wants to Slash the F-35 Program, But It Won’t Be Easy. “Full-scale production of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 was originally scheduled to begin eight years ago, but this proved to be an overly-optimistic estimate by 11 years—and that’s assuming full-scale production does, in fact, begin in 2019 as projected now. The F-35 will be the most expensive weapons system in history by a significant margin, exceeding $1 trillion in projected lifetime costs. Trump has targeted the program as an area to save money.”