The Defense Department and Lockheed Martin, the giant contractor hired to design and build the plane, have constructed what amounts to a budgetary force field around the nearly $400 billion program. Here is a look at three ways the F-35 is protected. (Read related article)

Sources: U.S. Government Accountability Office; Defense Department; Lockheed Martin; Joint Strike Fighter Program Office; U.S. Air Force; U.S. Marine Corps; U.S. Navy | By Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Alberto Cuadra and Bill Webster / The Washington Post