Is the F 35 really worth it? Or even needed?
The end of last month we heard that the F35 had flown its first combat mission. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/09/27/f-35-flies-first-combat-mission-in-afghanistan/ Our great 5G fighter/bomber/whatever was victorious on its mission against the most modestly equipped adversary on the planet. No doubt a PR stunt to sell it in the budget debates.
The next day we hear that our great 5G fighter crashed in South Carolina and is a total loss of $115M. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-south-carolina-crash-military/f-35-fighter-jet-crashes-in-south-carolina-pilot-ejects-idUSKCN1M82H2
The entire project has been a clusterfuck that reveals the corruption of the entire procurement process.
As far as if it is needed, I am of the opinion that we don't have any state level adversaries that are that serious a threat because of global economic entanglement. Having worked on publicly funded projects I've seen first hand the vanity of officials distorting their judgment to accept some gold plated widget because it seemed impressive.
I'd rather have a thousand A10s than 100 F35s. Give me the weapons I need today and prove to me that your wonder weapon is needed or worth the cost before I put down my green.
Sancho
(9,106 posts)saidsimplesimon
(7,888 posts)I will add militarytimes to my reading list. I have been following procurement stories on Janes for a while now.
Historic NY
(38,007 posts)hopefully they can fix the problem with pilots and their 400k helmets. Then there is the pilot blackout problem
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a22877042/navy-f35-helmet-bug/]
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/just-might-be-fatal-flaw-could-crash-f-22-or-f-35-28047]
awesomerwb1
(4,591 posts)The plane is completely invisible.
YOHABLO
(7,358 posts)awesomerwb1
(4,591 posts)It was a joke. Based on twitler's previous comments
Angleae
(4,646 posts)The USMC, UK, Italy, and Spain need it to replace their broken down/worn out harriers (and in the case of the UK, non-existant) which there is no other alternative other than scrapping their carriers.