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Trillion-Dollar Jet Has Thirteen Expensive New Flaws
The most expensive weapons program in U.S. history is about to get a lot pricier.... (gizmodo.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
I understand that this aircraft is in all sorts of new technological fields and delays are to be expected, but if its true that Lockheed couldnt even get the stealth to work then there needs to be hell to pay.
"Hi, Lockheed, this is Canada calling. Yeah, cancel our order, eh!"
Scrap it and invest the money back into the F-22. It is a proven platform and it is already in service! It amazes me how they can create nearly flawless aircraft such as the F-117 and the F-22, yet the F-35 seems nearly impossible to build. I mean Lockheed has a long history of successful, cutting-edge aircraft, yet the F-35 is a roadblock for them. I wonder if the real problem isn't the design, but the fact they're designing an aircraft for multiple branches and multiple nations.
I would say the problem is with it being designed for all the branches....everyone wants their cookies in the jar. It's a great concept with having one similar platform for all branches. And hopefully it will pan out and truly save costs on production, maintenance, training, etc.
I know the F-35 is way more complex, but the three branches didn't have this problem when the F-4 was designed. Hopefully it will all work out though. We can't afford to let China and Russia catch up with our technology.
At this stage of the game, those types of things should have been worked out already. One-size-fits-all does not work well when the services each have different missions. The Navy and Marine Corps can share an aircraft since they perform the same missions from carrier decks, but I really question the viability of taking an aircraft that is supposed to be sealthy and make it STOVL capable by adding a vertically-oriented fan. The Air Force mission is usually so different from the Navy/Marine Corps mission that similar airframes usually don't work well (the Phantom II being an obvious exception).
I actually find this statement the most troubling: "Most ominously, the report mentions - but does not describe - a "classified" deficiency. "Dollars to doughnuts it has something to do with stealth," aviation guru Bill Sweetman wrote. In other words, the F-35 might not be as invisible to radar as prime contractor Lockheed Martin said it would be."
It might be time for the Pentagon to cut bait and continue the F-22 program while figuring out what to do. At least the Raptor is a known quantity. Boeing also has plans for further upgraded versions of the F-15 (I guess it would be the -15F or -15G) and the F/A-18 (most likely the -18G/H). We know the Pentagon budget is about to be slashed, so this albatross needs to be jettisonned.