Sea spray made naval jets harder and costlier

What risk did sea spray pose to early naval jets?

Saltwater corrosion is a major cost of operating aircraft at sea, and F-35 marinization shows how shared designs can burden services that do not need it.

Saltwater exposure is highly corrosive and difficult for aircraft. Naval jets require protection against that environment, which raises cost and complexity. The F-35 program illustrates the problem: features needed by sea-based variants can impose a design burden on air forces that do not routinely operate in saltwater conditions. Marinization therefore affects the economics of a shared aircraft program as well as the naval variant itself.