F-35: Looking at most expensive weapons system ever
In the rush to stay ahead of China and Russia, the Pentagon started buying the F-35 before testing it, breaking the traditional “fly-before-you-buy” rule of weapons acquisition. Now taxpayers are paying the price for mistakes that weren’t caught before production began. A Pentagon document obtained by 60 Minutes catalogues the “flawed . . . assumptions” and “unrealistic . . . estimates” that led to a $163 billion cost overrun on what was already the highest priced weapons system in history. David Martin reports on the problem-plagued program and the battles the Pentagon has fought with the plane’s manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, to bring the costs under control. He also gets a firsthand look at some of the plane’s game-changing technology for a story to be broadcast on 60 Minutes, Sunday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
“We started buying airplanes a good year before we started test flights,” says Frank Kendall, the Pentagon’s chief weapons buyer. “I referred to that decision as acquisition malpractice.” Kendall says the program is now under control, but says,“We need to face the truth in this business. We need to understand what works and what doesn’t.”
A lot didn’t work for the state-of-the-art jet, which the Air Force, Navy and Marines are all counting on to replace virtually all of their current jet fighters. Mistakes included simple things like running lights that didn’t conform to FAA standards and tires that wore out much faster than expected. “Tires aren’t rocket science,” says Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, the man in charge of the F-35 program. “We ought to be able to figure out how to do tires on a multibillion dollar, highly-advanced fighter.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/f-35-looking-at-most-expensive-weapons-system-ever/
Is there no accountability at all in government???
“In the rush to stay ahead of China and Russia,...”
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A truly admirable goal.
The problem is, meanwhile we are supporting China by buying everything from there.
China is (rapidly) gaining ground.
Bring back American manufacturing. Now.
That’s really depressing.
>>Is there no accountability at all in government???<<
If you see just one example, I’ll bet you made a mistake.
I read that and think: The F-22 would’ve been a better investment.
We are so scr**ed.