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inSharePentagon Helps New Stealth Fighter Cheat on Key Performance Test
By David Axe Email Author March 5, 2012 | 4:00 pm | Categories: Air Force
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Photo: U.S. Air Force
It seemed like a promising step for America’s next stealth fighter: The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter passed a key Pentagon test of its combat capability. But it turns out that the family of jets cleared the mid-February exam only because its proctor agreed to inflate its grade. In essence, the military helped the F-35 cheat on its midterms.
The collusion between the Pentagon testing body, known as the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC), and the F-35 program — first reported by Inside Defense — confirmed that the U.S.’ most expensive warplane met previously established performance criteria. Specifically, the review was meant to show that the jet can fly as far and take off as quickly as combat commanders say they need it to.
But the review council, which includes the vice chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, eased the standard flying profile of the Air Force’s F-35A model — thereby giving it a range boost of 30 miles. And it tacked an additional 50 feet onto the required takeoff distance for the Marines’ F-35B version, which Defense Secretary Leon Panetta just took off budgetary probation.
The grade inflation comes at a critical time for the new warplane. The military’s new five-year budgeting blueprint, also released in February, cut more than 100 existing Air Force fighters while leaving intact plans to produce nearly 2,500 F-35s — essentially doubling down on the new plane despite a recent report listing 13 serious design flaws. The total cost to buy and fly the full fleet of F-35s over 50 years is estimated at around $1 trillion, once inflation is factored in, making it the costliest defense program in human history.".............................
JJ mt_man wrote: Why do they need new planes anyway? They should just stick with the Falcons, Hornets, and Harriers rather than feed the greedy corporations.
"The balance of power is maintained that way". :Whistle
Balance of power? So our Tomcats are only 10 times as good as the latest Chinese fighter plane?
You would think for what we are paying per plane, these would be perfect.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
The performance misses aren't that big a deal, design targets/specs always change after real world tests and performance revisions/improvements get made over time. These aren't Honda Civics you know!
I'd be more concerned about the cost over-runs.
I worked at a company in San Diego in 2006 on the F-35 program, got a nice 8x10 autographed photo from the first test flight too for being on the program! It is a cool plane, but not sure about their all-purpose/joint strategy. Its been expensive and the per unit price is rising as the politickers scale back production numbers.
F14, F15, F16, F18's all are old designs from the 70s. They are getting a bit dated like the space shuttle.
If you want to be, press one. If you want not to be, press 2
Republicans are red, democrats are blue, neither of them, gives a flip about you.
This was kind of my point. If the US government decided not to update its weaponry and use old equipment that "still worked" people would be upset about that too. The cost is definitely a concern, but again you can't have the most advanced weapons system in the world for free.
