WO,
In my view what needs to happen is that the JPO and Gilmore need to get in a room and really discuss the way forward privately, rather than this public berating and political point scoring. It's info on the performance of countermeasures etc. that directly affects the safety of the aircrew.
Whilst openness with the taxpayers is all well and good it should not compromise OpSec, which I feel that the OT&E report does.
The United States spends more money on defense than the next twelve nations combined, and that includes China and Russia. So here we have the F-35 program, the most expensive single defense program, ever. Face it, the program is way late reaching the goal line, continuing technical problems remain and even grow with real solutions remaining elusive, e.g., sometime in the future. Yet, no one in US Government that controls the purse strings seem interested or even concerned with what has happened or what is going to happen. In fact:
-- Sneak peek at Defense Secretary Ash Carter's FY2017 budget request: The Pentagon wants to boost spending on advanced weaponry and the U.S. footprint in Europe. Carter will today make a case for why China’s rapid military buildup and Russia’s intervention beyond its borders pose a larger threat to U.S. security, and merit larger investments, than do extremist groups like the Islamic State. Carter wants to broaden the military’s focus to include not just the insurgent conflicts of the post-2001 era but also “higher-end” threats from Russia and China, whose military innovation U.S. officials acknowledge has at times out-paced the United States.
Before the JPO and Gilmore sit down privately, Ash Carter might do well to become involved in the F-35 discussion along with the select few in Congress charged with Defense issues and spending. If anybody reads this, I hope Ash Carter does because he apparently is sheltered from reality...