4 ms·

This feels like one of those events that historians will look back upon as a signal of the decline of the American Empire that went unnoticed. Yes, all the rea

This feels like one of those events that historians will look back upon as a signal of the decline of the American Empire that went unnoticed. Yes, all the reasons listed in the article make sense. These reasons are the proximate cause for why the aircraft could not be saved. However, what we’re effectively saying is that we as a society have a defense system incapable of prioritizing a few million dollars in hangar cost to protect a few hundred million dollars in aircraft cost (think about how many weather events can be expected to happen over the 50yr life of the F22). When the military industrial complex starts making such poor resource allocation decisions, something has gone horribly wrong. We’re just too afraid to admit it.

obblekk 8y ago
Not to mention, what’s the true capacity of the US defense network if there’s a series of bad weather events? What happens if a hurricane hits the east coast shortly after a major earthquake hits the west coast? Are we training our enemies on our non-nuclear weak points?
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- rangibaby 8y ago
  > Are we training our enemies on our non-nuclear weak points? ATM there is no nation in the world with the ability to launch a conventional invasion of the USA, let alone have a chance of succeeding
Pulcinella 8y ago
Or perhaps something has gone “horribly right.” Now Lockheed gets to sell an additional 17 replacement jets. I would argue that the goal of the MIC isn’t to effectively allocate resources to defend the US (or even to expand US imperialism). It’s to make money for the MIC and keep the system going.
- LVB 8y ago
  Doubtful, since the last plane was delivered about 6 years ago and the program has very steep startup costs.
  - Pulcinella 8y ago
    Yes I forgot that this was the cancelled program, not the f-35.
scottLobster 8y ago
As someone who works for a large defense contractor, in my experience this lack of long-term thinking is endemic to the industry leadership as a whole, down to software developers often having to lobby and push for basic equipment, like workstations with the software required to run their code (not making this up). It's a very efficient business in terms of extracting revenue from the customer, the actual mission is almost always secondary or tertiary, much to the chagrin of the Engineers. And it's very complacent. In theory there's competition, but in reality all the big contractors are roughly the same company with a different color scheme down to the salary grades. I've had co-workers whose customer shifted the contract from one big contractor to the other and the only thing that changed was his badge and health insurance provider. It's actually a possible golden opportunity for any aspiring entrepreneurs willing to endure the politics and bullshit of working with the government. Regarding software, providing a better and cheaper product than the incumbents would not be difficult. The barriers would be human, but not necessarily insurmountable.

obblekk 8y ago

Not to mention, what’s the true capacity of the US defense network if there’s a series of bad weather events? What happens if a hurricane hits the east coast shortly after a major earthquake hits the west coast? Are we training our enemies on our non-nuclear weak points?

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
rangibaby 8y ago
> Are we training our enemies on our non-nuclear weak points? ATM there is no nation in the world with the ability to launch a conventional invasion of the USA, let alone have a chance of succeeding

Pulcinella 8y ago

Or perhaps something has gone “horribly right.” Now Lockheed gets to sell an additional 17 replacement jets. I would argue that the goal of the MIC isn’t to effectively allocate resources to defend the US (or even to expand US imperialism). It’s to make money for the MIC and keep the system going.

LVB 8y ago
Doubtful, since the last plane was delivered about 6 years ago and the program has very steep startup costs.
- Pulcinella 8y ago
  Yes I forgot that this was the cancelled program, not the f-35.

scottLobster 8y ago

As someone who works for a large defense contractor, in my experience this lack of long-term thinking is endemic to the industry leadership as a whole, down to software developers often having to lobby and push for basic equipment, like workstations with the software required to run their code (not making this up). It's a very efficient business in terms of extracting revenue from the customer, the actual mission is almost always secondary or tertiary, much to the chagrin of the Engineers. And it's very complacent. In theory there's competition, but in reality all the big contractors are roughly the same company with a different color scheme down to the salary grades. I've had co-workers whose customer shifted the contract from one big contractor to the other and the only thing that changed was his badge and health insurance provider. It's actually a possible golden opportunity for any aspiring entrepreneurs willing to endure the politics and bullshit of working with the government. Regarding software, providing a better and cheaper product than the incumbents would not be difficult. The barriers would be human, but not necessarily insurmountable.