The most expensive and advanced “multi-role” fighter jet in all the world could be sent off to fight the most dastardly and troubling terrorist group in the world — ISIS (aka IS, ISIL, Daesh, the Islamic State) — according to the United States Air Force and its head of Air Combat Command, General Hawk Carlisle.

Only thing is, the aircraft still isn’t ready to fly a combat mission — what the U.S. military calls “initial operational capability” or “IOC” for short. And, according to numerous sources, that stamp might not come until the closeout months of 2016, due to bugs and kinks in its software.

“I see it at the front end of that August to December window,” Carlisle said.

Soo … September?

More from the Air Force Times:

Carlisle said he wants to get the plane’s “dynamic presence” into the theater.

“As soon as I get F-35s operational, I’d like to do it with the F-35 as well to demonstrate that I can move those airplanes anywhere that I need to as rapidly as I can to support combatant commanders’ needs, whether it’s in a peace time training environment, messaging to a potential adversary, or, if we ever had to, in case of conflict,” he said.

The ongoing nature of the fight against terrorists in the Middle East could deploy the F-35 to that region immediately. But flying a reassurance mission to Europe would likely.

“My guess is I’ll try to do it in, right off the top of my hat I think probably within 18 months or so,” Carlisle said. “We’ve got to get our feet on the ground, get moving.”

Aside from flying them to the Middle East, the Pentagon also has plans to stockpile them in the Pacific region, a proverbial muscle flex in the direction of Russia and China. The latter not shocking given the current situation with diplomacy in the South China Sea. As for the former Soviet Union? Putin will always be Putin.