Thursday, October 22, 2015

F-35 Block 4 Upgrade list is unaffordable!


via Breaking Defense.
But there’s a problem, Bogdan freely admitted. With wish-lists coming from three US armed services and foreign partners — seven if Canada drops out (more on that below) — the upgrade package has swollen beyond what’s feasible or affordable, Bogdan said. The next six to eight months will be crucial as the program office, US services, and foreign partners wrestle over those requirements. If they can’t whittle them down, then the F-35 modernization effort may suffer the same cost overruns and schedule slips as many programs in the past, including the original F-35 program itself.
“I know that these further upgrades are essential, but I think it’s important for us to try to get a handle on this before it gets out of whack as we’ve seen [on] this project from the very beginning,” longtime F-35 skeptic Loretta Sanchez, the top Democrat on the committee, told Bogdan. “So,” she asked pointedly, “does the F-35 program have a prioritized list [of requirements]?”
“We have a large amount of requirements that I today believe are unaffordable,” he said frankly.
“I’ve learned a lot of lessons in the last three years about what the original EMD (Engineering, Manufacturing and Development) program looked like; I don’t want the follow-on program to look anything like that.”
The basic issue with the requirements list is that “it grew over time as threats evolved,” Harrigian told reporters. “It grew to, frankly, an unacceptable list that we are now working through to determine what no-kidding capabilities…do we need to have on this airplane to ensure we stay ahead of the threat.
Here.

Well I was wondering what the next shoe to drop on the F-35 would be and now we have it.

This flying piece of shit will cost EVEN MORE MONEY to get it combat capable....and even then they won't be able to afford all the desired upgrades requested by the USAF, USN, USMC, and our allies.

Time to pull the plug now!

NOTE:  What do I not like about F-16.net?  They have an environment where only F-35 supporters can participate on their page.  If you are a detractor (like me) then you will be shouted down and ostracized to a point where you will simply leave instead of putting up with the headache.  I don't want that here with the misguided individuals that think that the F-35 is worthwhile.  I WANT THE DEBATE!  I WANT THE DISCUSSION!  I want it to happen in the right way. I'm hardly a bleeding heart but the discussion MUST be had if we're to get more people to our side.  So what does that mean?  IT MEANS LAY OFF LEROY!  He's acting as the voice for many so lets show them they're wrong, not simply cuss, fuss and tell them to eat shit and die.  We're winning and winning big.  But new people brought to our side is never a bad thing.  Remember.  I was once a HUGE supporter of this program and if I can be convinced that I was wrong then so can others....even at this late stage.

No comments :

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.