The tab on the F-35 fighter jet is $2 trillion and counting, and it’s not a very good plane. I’d hate to be the guy who has to take the heat from the many U.S. allies who bought this lemon. From Dan Grazier at responsiblestatecraft.org:
With some wonky, hard to decipher language, a recent GAO report concluded the beleaguered jet will never meet expectations
Nearly a quarter century after the Pentagon awarded Lockheed Martin the contract to develop the Joint Strike Fighter Program into the F-35, the government finally admitted the jet will never live up to Lockheed’s ambitious promises — used to sell the $2 trillion boondoggle to nearly 20 countries around the world.
The Government Accountability Office released a report last month detailing the ongoing challenges the program faces. The first paragraph of the highlights page includes this sentence:
“The program plans to reduce the scope of Block 4 to deliver capabilities to the warfighter at a more predictable pace than in the past.”
The casual reader will be forgiven for possibly glossing over the passage because of its anodyne wording. But the statement is a profound admission that the F-35 will never meet the capability goals set for the program. “Reduce the scope of Block 4” means that program officials are forgoing planned combat capabilities for the jets.
Block 4 is the term to describe ongoing design work for the program. It began in 2019 and was termed as the program’s “modernization” phase. In reality, Block 4 is just a continuation of the program’s initial development process. Officials were unable to complete the F-35’s basic design within the program’s initial budget and schedule. Rather than making that embarrassing admission and requesting more time and money from Congress, Pentagon officials claimed the initial development process was complete (it was not) and they were moving on to “modernization.” What they really did was simply reclassify initial development work with a fancy rebrand.
The MIC says ka-ching is not a failure.
They aren’t out to win one for the Gipper.
A wretched hive of scum and villainy.
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“Nothing to see here, Folks, now just move along [and you wage-slaves keep funding our lavish lifestyles IN and OUT of the MIC revolving doors…]”
~ the 820 Flag Officers of Quantico
Soon to be Board of Directors of said-MIC
The F35 like most other modern aircraft gotta fly and mission to develop sound tactics. The F4 the F16 the F18 ALL had mission blind spots.
in my town we will start receiving Fat Bettie’s within six months. Ann the IP pilots are head3d off to AZ to learn the fine art of flying the F35. It is what it is.
this train up phase is where the F35 will fly daily and learn its limits and also excel in other air to air maneuvers.
my point, give the old girl a chance to be the best she can be.
Dirk
We have known this for over a decade. This must mean they have something expensive in mide to replace it.