Pentagon considers scrapping costly F-35 jet program

[unhappycamper]

http://rt.com/usa/pentagon-f35-stealth-bomber-963/



A Pentagon budget review reveals that the Pentagon is considering the cancellation of its $391.2 billion F-35 fighter jet program that already involves ten foreign countries

Pentagon considers scrapping costly F-35 jet program
By Ken Hanly
Aug 2, 2013 - 15 hours ago in Business


Washington - The documents were leaked but a briefing by Pentagon officials held recently laid out a number of ways that the Pentagon could cope with $500 billion in automatic budget cuts required over the next ten years. The slideshow showed the Pentagon was frustrated by the continued cost over-runs of the jet program.

US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said that the Pentagon might have to decide between a much smaller force or a decade-long holiday from modernizing its weapons systems and technology. Reuters reported that a decision to maintain a large military could result in terminating the $392 billion Lockheed Martin Corp. F-35 program and also a new stealth long-range bomber.

The F-35 program is the most expensive weapons system ever. 2,443 aircraft are to be built. The price tag of $391.2 billion is already up 68 per cent from the original estimates in 2001. US Lieutenant General Christopher Bogdan lashed out a Lockheed Martin and Pratt and Whitney for overcharging the US government. Bogdan is the head of the US Joint Strike fighter program.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke to reporters on Wednesday and indicated that the Pentagon might have to decide between a "much smaller force" and a decade-long "holiday" from modernizing weapons systems and technology.

[Aristus]

1. For defense contractors: New Rule -

If you can't deliver it on time and on budget, your contract gets cancelled. Bottom line.

[earthside]

2. That is nearly half the total student loan debt.

It just shows you how messed-up are our priorities in this country.

We could do more to strengthen the nation by forgiving student loans and letting people become productive earners and spenders with that money ... than any benefit we will ever get out of the F-35.

Once you sign-up for the Pentagon's contract notification emails, you really begin to comprehend what a welfare program is the U.S. military --- but it is not welfare for the poor, it is a wealth transfer program from working folks to rich corporations and the retired officer corps.

http://www.defense.gov/Contracts/

[unhappycamper]

3. Yup. Here's the elephant in the room:

[earthside]

4. And I want to thank you ...

... for making me aware sometime back of the contracts notification emails.

Most folks see the billions and billions of dollars the military spends as kind of an abstract number, they don't see the substance behind those amazingly large figures.

But when you see everyday just where all that money is going, well, it is an eye-opener.

It is tens and hundreds of millions of dollars of contracts awarded every single day, five days a week.
Actually, I think I saw somewhere on DU (maybe you posted it) that the Pentagon has something like $3 billion available to spend everyday.

The downside of this knowledge, however, is that it also makes one realize that the money and power is spread around so broadly that it is highly doubtful that we will ever see the political will to stop this gravy train --- at least under the present political and governmental system in this nation.