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The F-35 program has been the target of a lot of criticism. Like, a lot.

The military aircraft, said to be the most lethal and connected fighter jet in the world, has been plagued by ballooning cost, delays and technical problems for years, and the F-35\\u2019s annual assessment by the Pentagon\\u2019s test center isn\\u2019t exactly giving its reputation a boost.

It\\u2019s being reported by Bloomberg that, while Robert Behler, the Defense Department\\u2019s director of operational test and evaluation, didn\\u2019t pinpoint any major problems in flying capability, he did stress there were many Category 1 \\u2013 or \\u201cmust fix\\u201d items \\u2013 to address before the project\\u2019s next phase.

The report identifies some 873 software deficiencies, down from 917 in September of 2018. The low rate of progress is due to what sounds like a game of \\u201cwack a mole\\u201d \\u2013 as problems are snuffed out, more continue to arise.

And software glitches are not the only thing here: the jet is said to have some cybersecurity vulnerabilities and its Air Force version has a pretty serious gun problem, in that it doesn\\u2019t shoot straight. While the 25mm firearms on the Navy and Marine versions are mounted externally and have passed muster, the Air Force gun is internally mounted. The test office reportedly \\u201cconsiders the accuracy, as installed, unacceptable\\u201d due to \\u201cmisalignments\\u201d in the gun\\u2019s mount that didn\\u2019t meet specifications.\\u201d

But one of the stranger things about this whole situation as that orders for the F-35 continue to pile up. The US is accelerating purchases this year \\u2013 20 in this fiscal versus 15 last year \\u2013 and foreign countries like Japan, Australia and the UK all count themselves as customers.

According to Time, a spokesperson for the F-35 program office had no comment on the latest report from the testing office.

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