No, I didn't selectively ignore it- I was simply unaware of it. Since I know so little, I consider being here as a great opportunity to learn, not agitate anyone. If we all knew and understood everything, there would be no point participating in discussions! IMO, capability must be proven in the real world, not just by virtue of being buillt into anything. That's what the military calls "lessons learned".
GAO report card on F-35 has been released!
- Thread starter F-15 Eagle
- Start date
Lessons learned is based on actual application experience. thats why:
- The US developed super carriers after Midway and Independance
- It's why Seaplanes were abandoned by the 70's by everyone except the Japanese at an operational level and virtually by the mid 80's by the Soviets. They are basing intensive, they are heavily influenced by weather (esp basing location) and they are as noisey as a possum in mating season. "Noise is death"
- The Brits and French abandoned stumpy cruisers such as Blake and Jeane D'Arc as they realised that the fanciful notion that placing stovl fixed wing fighters was logistically an absolute nightmare - and operationally completely impractical
- It's why US cruise missile development focused on subsonic rather than supersonics as Have Blue and Tacit Blue results showed obliquely that supersonics had limited advantage. They learnt the same from the Ryan Firebee Q series.
- It's why the PAR system developed for Longbeach and Enterprise evolved into Aegis
- It's why the USN was happy to cut and shut some old SSBN's and turn them into SSGN's
- Its why helo ASW best works in packs of 3.
- It's why rail launched ICBM's went the way of the dodo
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F-15 Eagle
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Pentagon to review F-35 program.
Senior Pentagon officials met Wednesday to review progress on Lockheed Martin's F-35 joint strike fighter program with an eye on whether to approve production of the next 12 aircraft.
The defense acquisition board, convened by top Pentagon weapons buyer John Young, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, comes as the F-35 program -- the largest, most costly U.S. weapons program -- is attracting increased scrutiny because of development problems and rising costs.
The acquisition meetings are formal steps during key stages in the weapons-buying process, when senior officials review progress on meeting technical goals, schedules and the budget.
A spokeswoman in the Pentagon said that the meeting was held and that she expected no formal announcement. Typically, Young and his predecessors may take days to review data presented at the meeting before making any decisions.
What's at stake
The Pentagon's F-35 procurement office and the contractor team headed by Lockheed are seeking Young's go-ahead to ramp up production on 12 aircraft for the Air Force and Marines.
Congress included $6.73 billion in the fiscal 2008 defense budget to pay for production of the 12 planes, continue development and testing, and buy materials for 16 airplanes scheduled to be funded in the 2009 budget.
The F-35 is being developed and built at Lockheed's sprawling plant in west Fort Worth, where about 5,000 people work on the program.
Raising concerns
Since it was launched in late 2001, the F-35 program has fallen nearly two years behind the original schedule, and the total cost of developing and acquiring more than 2,400 planes for the U.S. armed forces has risen to $300 billion, according to the last official Pentagon estimate.
A recent report by the Government Accountability Office, which acts as Congress' investigative arm, said recent internal Pentagon estimates indicate that costs could rise by $38 billion or more.
More flight-testing delays of the second aircraft have occurred since a second test engine failure in early February.
Looking ahead
Financial and defense analysts don't expect Young to order any major changes in the F-35 program's schedule or budget.
"While the JSF program still has further upcoming milestones, the long-term outlook for the program remains rock solid," aerospace analyst Peter Arment of American Technology Research wrote in a note to investors.
Link: http://www.star-telegram.com/business/story/548542.html
Senior Pentagon officials met Wednesday to review progress on Lockheed Martin's F-35 joint strike fighter program with an eye on whether to approve production of the next 12 aircraft.
The defense acquisition board, convened by top Pentagon weapons buyer John Young, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, comes as the F-35 program -- the largest, most costly U.S. weapons program -- is attracting increased scrutiny because of development problems and rising costs.
The acquisition meetings are formal steps during key stages in the weapons-buying process, when senior officials review progress on meeting technical goals, schedules and the budget.
A spokeswoman in the Pentagon said that the meeting was held and that she expected no formal announcement. Typically, Young and his predecessors may take days to review data presented at the meeting before making any decisions.
What's at stake
The Pentagon's F-35 procurement office and the contractor team headed by Lockheed are seeking Young's go-ahead to ramp up production on 12 aircraft for the Air Force and Marines.
Congress included $6.73 billion in the fiscal 2008 defense budget to pay for production of the 12 planes, continue development and testing, and buy materials for 16 airplanes scheduled to be funded in the 2009 budget.
The F-35 is being developed and built at Lockheed's sprawling plant in west Fort Worth, where about 5,000 people work on the program.
Raising concerns
Since it was launched in late 2001, the F-35 program has fallen nearly two years behind the original schedule, and the total cost of developing and acquiring more than 2,400 planes for the U.S. armed forces has risen to $300 billion, according to the last official Pentagon estimate.
A recent report by the Government Accountability Office, which acts as Congress' investigative arm, said recent internal Pentagon estimates indicate that costs could rise by $38 billion or more.
More flight-testing delays of the second aircraft have occurred since a second test engine failure in early February.
Looking ahead
Financial and defense analysts don't expect Young to order any major changes in the F-35 program's schedule or budget.
"While the JSF program still has further upcoming milestones, the long-term outlook for the program remains rock solid," aerospace analyst Peter Arment of American Technology Research wrote in a note to investors.
Link: http://www.star-telegram.com/business/story/548542.html
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