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F-35: Still No Finish Line in Sight
Pogo.Org ^ | March 19, 2018 | Dan Grazier

Posted on 04/02/2018 3:49:25 AM PDT by maddog55

Jim Roche, then-Secretary of the Air Force, made an announcement on October 26, 2001, that all aviation enthusiasts had been waiting for: a winner had been picked to design and build the Joint Strike Fighter. The American people were assured the new jet would enter service in 2008 and be a high-performance replacement for the military’s aging airframes while only costing between $40 million and $50 million.

The F-35 has now entered an unprecedented seventeenth year of continuing redesign, test deficiencies, fixes, schedule slippages, and cost overruns. And it’s still not at the finish line. Numerous missteps along the way—from the fact that the two competing contractors, Lockheed Martin and Boeing, submitted “flyoff” planes that were crude and undeveloped “technology demonstrators” rather than following the better practice of submitting fully functional prototypes, to concurrent acquisition malpractice that has prevented design flaws from being discovered until after production models were built—have led to where we are now. According to the latest annual report from the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E), 263 “high priority” performance and safety deficiencies remain unresolved and unaddressed, and the developmental tests—essentially, the laboratory tests—are far from complete. If they complete the tests, more deficiencies will surely be found that must be addressed before the plane can safely carry our Airmen and women into combat.

(Excerpt) Read more at pogo.org ...


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aerospace; boeing; usaf
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Long read but thorough. 17 Years of continuing redesign says it all....
1 posted on 04/02/2018 3:49:25 AM PDT by maddog55
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To: maddog55

Jesus. For THIS, Obama killed the F-22?

What a POS muslin asshat he was.


2 posted on 04/02/2018 3:50:44 AM PDT by Lazamataz (What America needs is more Hogg control.)
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To: maddog55

When will we abandon this thing?


3 posted on 04/02/2018 3:50:52 AM PDT by \/\/ayne (I regret that I have but one subscription cancellation notice to give to my local newspaper.)
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To: maddog55

I’m not in the military, but the F-35 seems to me, to be quite a good plane.

Best ever. By anyone. Ever.


4 posted on 04/02/2018 3:51:28 AM PDT by cba123 ( Toi la nguoi My. Toi bay gio o Viet Nam.)
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To: maddog55

Until you compare it to the gestation period of the F-22 Raptor.


5 posted on 04/02/2018 3:51:38 AM PDT by Yo-Yo (Is the /sarc tag really necessary?)
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To: cba123

The F-22 beats it in every way.


6 posted on 04/02/2018 3:52:42 AM PDT by Lazamataz (What America needs is more Hogg control.)
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To: Lazamataz

And that’s why 0failure killed it and pushed the f-35

Meanwhile, the Chinese received the plans for the f-22 and have made their own.

Thanks progressives. Treason scumbags to the core


7 posted on 04/02/2018 3:56:22 AM PDT by sten (fighting tyranny never goes out of style)
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To: maddog55

The plane is too fat looking. No Aircraft this out of proportion will ever work.


8 posted on 04/02/2018 3:57:03 AM PDT by ImJustAnotherOkie (All I know is what I read in the papers.)
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To: sten

Actually, the Chinese got the plans for the F-35 and backwards-modified it to make their own F-22.


9 posted on 04/02/2018 3:58:02 AM PDT by Lazamataz (What America needs is more Hogg control.)
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To: Lazamataz

What factors go into this mis-management?
Do we lack sufficient people with the brains and skills?

Is it Agile vs Waterfall?

Is it obsession with diversity and sensitivity?

Is the perfect the enemy of the good?

Is it greedy military-industrial complex?

Is it unitary, integrated design vs Modular plug n play?


10 posted on 04/02/2018 3:59:34 AM PDT by spintreebob
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To: \/\/ayne

“When will we abandon this thing?”

I’m guessing that this will be the last piloted fighter.


11 posted on 04/02/2018 4:00:53 AM PDT by snoringbear (W,E.oGovernment is the Pimp,)
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To: Lazamataz

Odungo saw it as a means to keep major donors....he hated the military, and used every means necessary to purposely waste tax payer dollars...


12 posted on 04/02/2018 4:03:23 AM PDT by Doogle (( USAF.68-73..8th TFW Ubon Thailand....never store a threat you should have eliminated)))
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To: snoringbear

“I’m guessing that this will be the last piloted fighter.”

Yes and no. It will probably be the last super expensive manned plane. But I suspect the battlefield of the future will be swarmed with updated propeller driven support aircraft similar to the Super Tucano. Then again, robotic swarm technology may make them obsolete too. The point is that the guy on the ground needs somebody above him or he’s just so much meat waiting to be butchered.

We have to stop designing vehicles so expensive that their loss impacts the entire war effort. Incidentally, I think stealth will prove to have limited value in the long run as counter technologies, which are cheaper and faster to develop, will proliferate. We will end up with hundred-million dollar aircraft that are too valuable too risk and too vulnerable to use.


13 posted on 04/02/2018 4:26:55 AM PDT by Gen.Blather
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To: cba123

>>I’m not in the military, but the F-35 seems to me, to be quite a good plane.

Best ever. By anyone. Ever.<<

The F-35 was SUPPOSED to be a replacement MRF for the various MRFs out there now: F-16, F-18, Mirage, etc.

The idea was a good one: A single airframe that would be low-cost and be able to be serviced in any western country and flown by any pilot in those countries.

Instead we have an expensive albatross with so much mission creep that it can do NONE of the things it was supposed to do.

Read the article about all the things wrong with the Best. Ever.

The best modern craft was the F-22. They shoulld bring it back. NOW.

And they should start the whole F35 program again, and this time stay to the principles. The F-16 and F-18 have been fantastic but they were designed 30+ years ago (when we could actually DO things).


14 posted on 04/02/2018 4:27:45 AM PDT by freedumb2003 (robert mueller is an unguided missile)
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To: Lazamataz

“What a POS muslin asshat he was.”...

That “POS” is still the same POS even though he is no longer POTUS.


15 posted on 04/02/2018 4:36:00 AM PDT by DaveA37
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To: Gen.Blather

I am old enough to remember the infamous “TFX”...the previous time the DoD went for “One SIze Fits All”. In the end, the F-111 saw limited service as an Air Force strike bomber and ECM Platform.

We need to change the DoD back to the War Department...which is their job. We need the Services to determine what their missions are, individually, and acquire the right platforms for those missions, for the services. At best, subsystem modularity would be appropriate, but for God’s Sake, stop trying to do everything with one widget!

And, put a rational evaluation on the value of tech.


16 posted on 04/02/2018 4:38:04 AM PDT by Redleg Duke (The Democrats in California want another civil war over cheap labor!)
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To: spintreebob

What factors go into this mis-management?
Do we lack sufficient people with the brains and skills?

Is it Agile vs Waterfall?

...

The concept of “Joint Strike Fighter” is the heart of the problem. The idea of a single platform that will work for every role. It’s like one of those does-everything Swiss-army knives. Yes, it has a screw driver, pliers, saw, etc. They just don’t actually work very well for a dedicated purpose.


17 posted on 04/02/2018 4:38:40 AM PDT by Flick Lives
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To: Redleg Duke

“I am old enough to remember the infamous “TFX”...the previous time the DoD went for “One SIze Fits All”. In the end, the F-111 saw limited service as an Air Force strike bomber and ECM Platform.
We need to change the DoD back to the War Department...which is their job. We need the Services to determine what their missions are, individually, and acquire the right platforms for those missions, for the services. At best, subsystem modularity would be appropriate, but for God’s Sake, stop trying to do everything with one widget!
And, put a rational evaluation on the value of tech.”

Where is that like button?


18 posted on 04/02/2018 4:39:17 AM PDT by Gen.Blather
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To: \/\/ayne

Google, Bing: F-35 Deployed. You might be surprised.


19 posted on 04/02/2018 4:40:38 AM PDT by Garvin (Always remember folks, kill a commie for mommy ~ Semper Fi, Mac!)
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To: Flick Lives
It’s like one of those does-everything Swiss-army knives. Yes, it has a screw driver, pliers, saw, etc. They just don’t actually work very well for a dedicated purpose.

Leatherman is pretty decent. I carry one almost all time.

20 posted on 04/02/2018 4:41:17 AM PDT by Sirius Lee (In God We Trust, In Trump We MAGA)
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