“The secretary is aware of the report,” Panetta spokesman George Little told reporters today. “He believes the F-35 program is important to pursue, that it will give us capabilities we need to maintain our edge.”
Another victory for groupthink.
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“The secretary is aware of the report,” Panetta spokesman George Little told reporters today. “He believes the F-35 program is important to pursue, that it will give us capabilities we need to maintain our edge.”
3 comments:
Anyone have an info on the severe vibration that the article talks about?
What about the tailhook and the fuel dump?
Hadn't heard about those issues before.
F-35 was never designed nor conceived to be maintaining 'an edge' through 2050, etc. That is a fundamental flaw and newly pre-conceived mission statement.
The F-22 was conceived and designed to counter next-gen threats and challenges for a couple of decades, maybe until 2035 when it would be expected to see a phase in of it's own modernized replacement.
Yet, if the F-35 could be 'pursued' under a more realistic and sustainable acquisition rate of say 20 units per year, + 12-15 F-22 units per year, then it would have been a valid part of the recap mix.
Start giving 50%+ haircuts to the assumed annual economies of scale though, and hold onto your hats for massive cost spikes and plummeting overseas orders given the austere environments ahead.
If a country like Iran can have radar that detect RQ-170, F-35 overall capability that depends on stealth is now in great question.
granted it's early in the full stealth game, but betting entire design on single feature doesn't seem smart to me.
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