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F-35: Controversial, Capable, or Both?

KillerFord1977 said:
Have you flown one ?
Are you a pilot ?
Former Military pilot ?
Do you work in the aviation industry ?
Ever worked on avionics? Flight infrastructure ? Airframes ?
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No.

But, like many others the info is open-source & widely reported that's why I provide references.

And in my private & professional life as an govt. analyst, its been a life-long interest & knowledge-base on aviation & other military-tech, and concern the effective use of the tax-payers $$.

Have you been on the bridge of a USN aircraft carrier?

Have you been on the Top Gun flight-line when it was at NAS Miramar?

How many helicopter types have you flown in.?

Bonus questions

Has every item of the US military been successful and funds wisely spent?

Do you work at a Ford truck assembly line?

Do you work at a Ford engine factory?


Is the F-35 controversial? Yes

Is it capable? Yes, to a degree.

Is it a super fighter? No.
 
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Talyn said:
No.

But, like many others the info is open-source & widely reported that's why I provide references.

And in my private & professional life as an govt. analyst, its been a life-long interest & knowledge-base on aviation & other military-tech, and concern the effective use of the tax-payers $$.

Have you been on the bridge of a USN aircraft carrier?

Have you been on the Top Gun flight-line when it was at NAS Miramar?

How many helicopter types have you flown in.?

Bonus questions

Has every item of the US military been successful and funds wisely spent?

Do you work at a Ford truck assembly line?

Do you work at a Ford engine factory?


Is the F-35 controversial? Yes

Is it capable? Yes, to a degree.

Is it a super fighter? No.
Click to expand...
Im not a military aviator, but i am a CFII, multi engine, acrobat, and float rated pilot with just shy of 2000 hrs.
Been flying since i was 12.

Point being, unless you flew one, worked on one and built one, its all an “opinion” and nothing more

And for your Govt oversight … well, I’m not going to waste my time
 
Talyn said:
No.

But, like many others the info is open-source & widely reported that's why I provide references.

And in my private & professional life as an govt. analyst, its been a life-long interest & knowledge-base on aviation & other military-tech, and concern the effective use of the tax-payers $$.

Have you been on the bridge of a USN aircraft carrier?

Have you been on the Top Gun flight-line when it was at NAS Miramar?

How many helicopter types have you flown in.?

Bonus questions

Has every item of the US military been successful and funds wisely spent?

Do you work at a Ford truck assembly line?

Do you work at a Ford engine factory?


Is the F-35 controversial? Yes

Is it capable? Yes, to a degree.

Is it a super fighter? No.
Click to expand...
So basically all you know is what you’ve read. If you ever come to Fort Worth I would be more than happy to introduce you to the people who designed, build, maintain and fly the F-35. Perhaps it would help you to develop a more informed perspective on the F-35 rather than spouting nothing but negative drivel on the internet. Is the F-35 program perfect? No, the concept of operations was designed by the USG. Is the F-35 a perfect fighter? Maybe, maybe not, but perhaps talking to the men and women who put their lives on the line flying it might have a more rounded opinion on that. But what do I know, I haven’t spent my life as a mid-level paper pusher, I’ve just been out there trying to touch hearts and minds.
 
KillerFord1977 said:
Im not a military aviator, but i am a CFII, multi engine, acrobat, and float rated pilot with just shy of 2000 hrs.
Been flying since i was 12.

Point being, unless you flew one, worked on one and built one, its all an “opinion” and nothing more

And for your Govt oversight … well, I’m not going to waste my time
Click to expand...
Great.

Point being, I know to back up my "points" with the facts based on my prior professional experience, and don't over-step.

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I don't like my taxpayers $$ going to failures and/or big mistakes.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) exists for a reason.
 
Talyn said:
I don't like my taxpayers $$ going to failures and/or big mistakes.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) exists for a reason.
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Just curious. I read an article a few years back which stated it would have been better/cheaper to go with the Saab Gripen E. What are your thoughts?
 
Cedric said:
Just curious. I read an article a few years back which stated it would have been better/cheaper to go with the Saab Gripen E. What are your thoughts?
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The Swede's know how to build nice fighters. The Gripen E (a two-seater "F" model is being developed between Brazil & Sweden) is an impressive fighter for it's price point & performance.

Easy to operate & maintain with a small ground crew. Low MCPH. Great new AESA radar coming online soon.

Cleared to use all the US ordnance + the European Meteor AAM. Uses the GE 414 with some performance increase potential.

I always thought it would be a good ANG fighter for homeland defense, BUT with the butt loads of the older F-16 Blocks that the get offloaded to the ANG there wasn't a chance for it, even though the US had bought & operated foreign designs.

Boeing was smart to partner with SAAB on the T-7. Very nice trainer & hopefully a light fighter with more development. Just need to get the ejection seat situation sorted out, since they fixed the flutter/wing drop issue with a software fix.

I'm a fan of the F-15EX also to replace the worn out F-15C/D/and E's. Very capable airframe with very low integration cots since those that fly the old F-15s already are familiar with it.

Plus, it's a nice complement to the F-35 since the 35 can't carry out-sized ordnance.

My .02
 
The closest I ever came to becoming a pilot was 40 hours in a Cessna 172 in the late 60's, which ended when I ran out of money and went off to the USAF. I have been around all kinds of aircraft and crews and have fighter jocks and flight surgeons in the family. From what I hear from folks in that world is that the pilots love the F35 and its capabilities. But they are not concerned with costs, just performance. As with all emerging military aircraft in in my lifetime, they all have had bugs to work out. The more complex the system, the more complex the bugs, and there is a never ending cycle of changes and upgrades. But we never know all the nuances or capabilities of the aircraft because the good stuff is classified.
 
HayesGreener said:
The closest I ever came to becoming a pilot was 40 hours in a Cessna 172 in the late 60's, which ended when I ran out of money and went off to the USAF. I have been around all kinds of aircraft and crews and have fighter jocks and flight surgeons in the family. From what I hear from folks in that world is that the pilots love the F35 and its capabilities. But they are not concerned with costs, just performance. As with all emerging military aircraft in in my lifetime, they all have had bugs to work out. The more complex the system, the more complex the bugs, and there is a never ending cycle of changes and upgrades. But we never know all the nuances or capabilities of the aircraft because the good stuff is classified.
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A pilots know the strengths & weaknesses of the planes they fly.

But those on the company payroll know to emphasize the strengths.

The F-22 is the best air superiority fighter and the F-35 is a good complement, especially for A2G; and the F-15EX is a good complement to both all in the fast mover category..

And the F-35 can't do what the A-10 can, and visa versa.

The problem with the development of those three is the F-22, and F-35 were developed to use different individual datalinks, and couldn't exchange data with the legacy Link16 inherent in the Gen 4 aircraft. So aircraft had three separate systems that couldn't share data. Isn't that sort of stupid?

Then the USAF/USN had to develop and install separate equipment in the F-22 and F-35, and pods for the Gen 4s so they could share data.

It's all about layered capabilities.

My .02
 
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