.............."The F-35 is clearly a case of too-big-to-fail, as the U.S. military would be left without any planned next-generation fighter should the F-35 program collapse. What is more likely is that Congress will attempt to “save” on the escalating costs by cutting the number of planned purchases of the plane. That would likely lead to a death spiral like the one that killed the F-22, whereby each cut raises the cost of individual units, leading to further cuts, and finally, a rump force (in the F-22 case, 187 planes, two of which have already crashed).
Proponents of the military’s current fighters argue that cutting the F-35 would not be such problem, since the Navy could continue to buy F-18s and the Air Force can rely on new F-15s and F-16s. That, however, would upend decades of commitment to stealth technology and raise fears that airframes designed 30 years ago might not be able to compete with newer Russian and Chinese fighter models, let alone potential stealth fighters from both countries.
What seems clear is that, without a dramatic upward turn in the F-35′s fortunes, a crisis may soon be reached that is as much political as industrial."
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I admit I am not up to date on new Chinese designs but seeing how much trouble they are having building up a quality navy, I am not too worried about the next generation of Chinese or Russian aircraft. Russia's military isn't beng maintained and their fleet lies rusting in harbors.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
Blazer Bob wrote: Proponents of the military’s current fighters argue that cutting the F-35 would not be such problem, since the Navy could continue to buy F-18s and the Air Force can rely on new F-15s and F-16s.
The trouble with that approach is the whole idea of the F-35 was a common platform, common parts and maintenance cost savings over time. F18 F15 and F16s are pretty capable but also dated.
I'm guessing they will roll it out slower, concentrating on one variant first- maybe Air Force model. Aren't Carriers going out of style? Too big and vulnerable. F14s are long retired.
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And aren't we building last century technology? Should we just develop drones? Cheaper, so you could have a fleet of them for what it costs when one F-35 crashes. And drone pilots don't have to worry about being shotdown and becoming POW's.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
