Wednesday, August 3, 2016

So is the F-35 actually ready for combat?

The Air Force says yes.  The rest of the world takes a "wait and see" approach to this gold plated fiasco.

9 comments:

Atom Smasher said...

"The F-35 can do its mission." That endorsement has F-111 written all over it.

Sherm said...

One of the problems with the military is that institutional memory sucks. Anyone involved with the F-111, for example, is long retired and, if still working, cashing in on the F-35. No one was sitting in the back of the room loudly proclaiming that a be all/ end all aircraft is an idea that, when tried, fails.

They also need to be introduced to the idea of sunk costs. That is, once spent the money is gone and should not factor into future decisions. A few dollars more makes for a decent movie title but not for military decision making.

drjim said...

Terrific waste of resources, when the USMC has to raid the boneyard to keep their F/A-18's operational....

Eagle said...

Go watch "The Pentagon Wars", a documentary about the Bradley. The book was more accurate than the movie, but the theme - the Pentagon is its own worst enemy - rings true even today.

Yes. I said "documentary". I meant to say "documentary"... because there's really nothing "comedic" about people who care more about their own promotions than the safety of this country.

Murphy's Law said...

The F-35 is perfect for combat...against other F-35s and maybe the Brewster Buffalo.

Ritchie said...

OK, so now we have a fighter that needs fighter escort.

OOh, F-22 anyone?

Comrade Misfit said...

The F-35 is a very expensive single-engined, single-seat, twin-ruddered flying dumpster fire.

Old NFO said...

Marine variant CANNOT...

Will said...

Rich P:

"OK, so now we have a fighter that needs fighter escort."

Shades of the Luftwaffe Me210/410 Heavy Fighter (Bomber Interceptor).