A F-35B being prepared for launch from the USS Essex ship | US Marine Corps
Posted on 09/27/2018 9:39:57 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
The US military announced on Thursday that its F-35B stealth fighter jet had carried out its first combat operation, with a strike mission against Taliban targets in Afghanistan. The fighters were launched by the US Marines from an amphibious assault ship at sea.
The F-35B is one of three variants of the F-35 fighter programme, which is the largest and most expensive weapons programme in US history. Last year, the US government revised the F-35 programme's total cost estimate to nearly $406 billion, after it briefly declined to less than $380 billion. The programme has seen significant criticism over its rising costs and repeated development delays over the past decade.
The F-35B variant is capable of vertical take-off and landing and is primarily meant for the US Marines Corps. The other variants are the F-35A for the US Air Force and the F-35C for the US Navy. All three variants have significant design differences to suit their mission profile. The F-35B is heavier than the other two variants and has a lower range given its need for a complex 'lift-fan' engine layout for vertical take-off and landing, while the F-35C has a larger wing area to suit carrier take-offs.
The F-35B, which is also on order for the British military and Italy, has come in for significant criticism given its weight issues and excessive engine heat issues—which necessitated the use of special deck coatings on amphibious ships carrying the fighter.
However, the F-35B has been considered 'sacrosanct' for the US Marines and British military given the need to replace the venerable Harrier vertical take-off fighter. The F-35B's stealthy design and capability to carry its weapons in internal bays, supersonic performance and cutting-edge sensors make it unquestionably superior to the 50-year-old Harrier design.
(Excerpt) Read more at theweek.in ...
A F-35B being prepared for launch from the USS Essex ship | US Marine Corps
Went right “downtown”, right into the teeth of Afghanistan’s terrifying ADA systems!
400 billion for something an A-6 could do better, longer, with a load equal to 1/3 of a B-52.
A low IQ, illiterate in-bred Afghan Taliban should feel honored to be killed by a $400 billion airplane.
Taliban got some S-300 sites up and running?
That’s pretty cool. All the testing in the world can’t beat a real world mission. They’ve finally done the round-trip from the Indian Ocean to Afghanistan and back, with a payload deposited at the mid-point.
400 billion is too low. more like a trillion dollars.
The F35 is a brilliant aircraft that has its place. The real problem is the Air Force and Congress make programs and missions that could well be done by other aircraft at great less expense. Hell yes we need the F35 but its expense should not be such that other less sophisticated aircraft are not funded to do missions for which they are most suited.
ps
When my son was in Iraq and down in the dirt the guys that came to help were low and slow A-10s and Apaches. They could bring hell down on the enemy with precision. Oddly their need was seldom. When it was needed they were there.
Using a possibly Billion dollar aircraft to do what A-10s and the old F-4s could do for pennies.
Makes no sense esp. if we lose one.
I was wondering about the current aircraft inventoried systems that could drop 2 or 3 JDAMS with out much trouble or fanfare.
US General: Russia Trying to ‘Undercut’ Progress in Afghanistan
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3684084/posts
Afgantsy: The Russians in Afghanistan 1979-1989.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2692043/posts
The Tailban airforce was no where to be found ...
Seen her just before launching off to devastate the Taliban with its two 500 lb bombs ...
Actual description for image:
Marines load GBU-12/B Paveway II bombs onto one of VMFA-211’s F-35Bs aboard the USS Essex on Sept. 22, 2018.
The Tailban airforce was no where to be found ...
pterodactyls were no where to be found
all that $$$$$ for a light load bomb truck, wonderful...
Anyone else here remember Pukin Dog? He used to claim to be a fighter pilot who had inside information from the military that the F-35 would never be operational. He slunk away, never to be seen on FR again, when it because clear that he was making it all up.
As more come into the fleet, the costs will go down due to common inventory. As it matures the costs will also come down due to efficiencies and better maintenance processes.
Bigger question is, if an F-18 flew off an Aircraft carrier and 300 miles from that an F-35 flew off an aircraft carrier, who would win the air to air battle? It would seem to me that the stealth of the F-35 will be an advantage over the F-18 and the F-18 will be shot down.
If that can be verified as true, then the program is worth it. Our Navy really has one opponent, which will be the Chinese Navy. Rendering China’s sea planes useless gives us a great advantage.
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