US Air Force F-35As during an exercise at Hill Air Force Base in Utah on January 2020. US Air Force/R. Nial Bradshaw
Business Insider: Ongoing headaches with F-35 fighter jets are rippling through the rest of the US military's combat aircraft fleet
* The F-35 program has been plagued by years of delays, cost overruns, and technical glitches.
* Those problems have prompted the Pentagon to extend the service lives of older combat jets.
* Extensions keep jets flying but don't guarantee they will meet future needs, a government watchdog says.
Years of delays, cost overruns, and technical glitches with the F-35 have put the Pentagon in a dilemma.
If F-35s aren't fit to fly in sufficient numbers, then older aircraft such as the F-16 must be kept in service to fill the gap.
In turn, having to extend the lifespan of older planes consumes money that could be used to acquire new aircraft and results in aging warplanes that may not be capable of fulfilling their missions on the current battlefield.
"While service life extension programs are one way to keep current aircraft capable and in operation, they do not guarantee that those aircraft will be available when needed or that they will possess required capabilities to meet future needs," the Government Accountability Office warned in a new report on US tactical aircraft.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: Problems like this one do not help .... New F-35 engine deliveries suspended amid ongoing investigation (Defense News).
6 comments:
Because the F-25 is the closest thing to a bird that has been built. Birds have elevated metabolisms, hollow bones and other novel features that make them high performance. There is no redundancy in an F-35. It is not like an A-10 or WW2 bomber that can be shot to Hell and still limp home. the requirements are so tight that when things go wrong, you are fucked.
As complexity rises, problems and cost rise exponentially! Just remember that.
Congress will just give DoD more money. Problem solved.
Another triple-A showing from the best of the best.
THERE IS A LIMIT TO COMPLEXITY.
Can I get paper weight for 200 please.
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