XBradTC

By

XBradTC

·

History of the F-35 Program

The F-35 remains understandably controversial and you can get a lot of opinions in the negative about it. Those critics seem to be jusst about everywhere in the mainstream and defenders seem to be on the fringes. Chief amongst those are Pierre Sprey. An outspoken critic of the F-35, Mr Sprey, portends to be a…

Rrve0oyx6riysla1rzuy

The F-35 remains understandably controversial and you can get a lot of opinions in the negative about it. Those critics seem to be jusst about everywhere in the mainstream and defenders seem to be on the fringes. Chief amongst those are Pierre Sprey. An outspoken critic of the F-35, Mr Sprey, portends to be a "designer" of the F-16 and F-15, but we'll leave aside for now.

Most of the F-35s problems are taken out of context by people that don't understand the nature of air combat or for that matter how fighter aircraft performance is measured. Most that understand it are seen as shills for LMTAS or the USAF or whoever. I've been in quite a few of these debates and was told that evidently I'm a paid shill for the F-35 myself. Good to know because I've been waiting a while for my check from both the DoD and LMTAS.

Anyway someone took sometime to rebut Mr Sprey and discuss the history of the F-35 Program.

 

Most of the issues the author tackles I've already discussed in numerous Facebook forums, other blogs etc. The video is an excellent sensible analysis of the program and provides a detailed history of the program till about the late 2015 timeframe.

Enjoy

Tags:

Responses to “History of the F-35 Program”

  1. Quartermaster

    Has Sprey ever claimed to have been the designer of the F-16? I’ve never seen anything where he makes the claim, although many make the claim for him.

    Like

  2. RJM

    True, Sprey has an agenda, but-
    15 years since selection. (2001)
    10 years since first flight. (2006)
    IOC was originally supposed to be in 2012. And this was initially promised as “full up”, with all sensors working and a wide array of weapons; neither of which is yet true.
    Still requires BILLIONS in upgrades to be what it was said it was going to be.
    Perhaps the most startling point is that almost 200 aircraft have been delivered so far and not one has deployed or is really ready for combat duty. (no matter what “IOC” is said to mean).
    I can’t think of another combat aircraft, in history, that has been produced in larger quantities and at higher cost with less demonstrated performance.

    Like

  3. Casey

    Why should they use them in combat right now? If one gets damaged or shot down I don’t doubt people like you would raise a fuss complaining about rushing a plane into combat before it’s ready.
    Right now CAS is 99% of what we’re doing. No air superiority, no SEAD, etc, and we have a large number of aircraft more than capable of performing that role.
    Want to talk about expensive, poorly-performing planes? The first flight of the second B-29 prototype was aborted due to engine fire, and the craft was later lost to an engine fire. The original R-3350 engines were unreliable to the point where some cylinder heads melted in Egypt, and overheating was a constant problem. The engines had to be replaced every 75 flight hours.
    There were so many changes to the design that early models were flown directly from the production line to modification centers for rebuilds. By the end of 1943, 100 aircraft had been delivered, but only 15 were airworthy. It took the “Battle of Kansas” just to get 175 planes to the Pacific.
    Once 20th Bomber Command actually had the planes their mission rate was abysmal. The maintenance system was a joke. Things didn’t start to turn around until LeMay took command.
    That’s just one example. The P-38 was designed as a high-altitude interceptor, but performed poorly at high altitudes in Europe. She eventually shone as a lower-altitude air superiority fighter in the Pacific. The Thunderbolt was once considered such a dog that it shouldn’t be put in the same airspace as German fighters. The B-26 Marauder was once so dangerous it gave rise to the saying “One a day in Tampa Bay.” The B-26 later enjoyed the lowest loss rate of any US bomber in WW2.
    People tend to forget the teething issues of earlier designs, such as the infamous “Saber dance.” Heck, even the Abrams and the Bradley were once labeled gold-plated death traps.
    Entertaining addendum to the B-29 story. LeMay had people working with local tribes across Asia to ensure they would rescue downed USAF airmen in their area. One fellow came to the General with a problem: the local tribe wanted opium as payment. When LeMay wanted to know the actual problem the junior replied “I don’t how to categorized that on forms!” LeMay told him to get “the goddam opium,” which was later referred to as “agricultural supplies” on forms.

    Like

  4. ron snyder

    Rebranding like Coke One. Ignore the reality and push the PR. What Patriots.

    Like

  5. ron snyder

    “Changing the public’s perception, he said, won’t be easy. Past problems have “not been conducive to people believing what we say,” he said.”
    Code for we have lied before and do not pay any attention to my very long nose. Standard Kool-Aid speak.

    Like

Leave a comment