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F-35 program is in large part complex software project but it's not just any software project - it's a large software integration, sensor integration project w

F-35 program is in large part complex software project but it's not just any software project - it's a large software integration, sensor integration project with many suppliers and interfaces - it includes incredibly advanced logistics, inventory, health and maintenance software ALIS that is essential for the program's success. Without ALIS F-35 can't keep readiness and availability needed - It's technically bleeding edge: augmented reality, mesh networking, ... (bleeding edge is rarely painless) - almost everything is safety critical or at least mission critical. The project has so much momentum and so much sunken cost that it may take a decade to see if it can really deliver. The ultimate test will be a high sortie rate mission that lasts few weeks. Lockheed engineers (civilians) are now on site doing custom work and repairs for individual parts to make the planes fly. If operational tempo increases, it's likely that the system can't keep up.

antpls 8y ago
And yet, if you ask anyone in the street about what they think about "complex systems", I bet most of them would have a negative sentiment. (if anyone knows a study that goes in that direction, please share). A smartphone is arguably a complex system, but there are thousands variants of them, and new evolutions appear every month globally. To me, the whole military industry looks like an hoax (not solving any real modern world problem), and the citizen pays it with their taxes.
ptero 8y ago
Those are all nice words, but I doubt reality will resemble marketing. First, it is already old (first flight in 2006). Those sensors, augmented reality, mesh networks and such are unlikely to be bleeding edge by now. We may already have better options, but they probably cannot be swapped in because safety, because it is such a complex mess and of course because secrecy. Second, successful aircraft (efficient, envelope pushing, not money guzzling) are designed quickly by a relatively small team empowered to break barriers or ignore red tape. Look for example at Skunk Works, their products and their timeline. F-35 is opposite: a multi-national, multi-service monster with bureaucracy, oversight and special interests that alone will drive good engineers away. Sorry, it is just a feeding trough. Let's finish what absolutely must be finished and limit our losses before it acquires another zero in the total price tag. My 2c.

antpls 8y ago

And yet, if you ask anyone in the street about what they think about "complex systems", I bet most of them would have a negative sentiment. (if anyone knows a study that goes in that direction, please share). A smartphone is arguably a complex system, but there are thousands variants of them, and new evolutions appear every month globally. To me, the whole military industry looks like an hoax (not solving any real modern world problem), and the citizen pays it with their taxes.

ptero 8y ago

Those are all nice words, but I doubt reality will resemble marketing. First, it is already old (first flight in 2006). Those sensors, augmented reality, mesh networks and such are unlikely to be bleeding edge by now. We may already have better options, but they probably cannot be swapped in because safety, because it is such a complex mess and of course because secrecy. Second, successful aircraft (efficient, envelope pushing, not money guzzling) are designed quickly by a relatively small team empowered to break barriers or ignore red tape. Look for example at Skunk Works, their products and their timeline. F-35 is opposite: a multi-national, multi-service monster with bureaucracy, oversight and special interests that alone will drive good engineers away. Sorry, it is just a feeding trough. Let's finish what absolutely must be finished and limit our losses before it acquires another zero in the total price tag. My 2c.