3 ms·

Both are essentially true. The aircraft does its job quite well. That's why the pilots love it. While specific details are pretty tightly controlled, no, the m

Both are essentially true. The aircraft does its job quite well. That's why the pilots love it. While specific details are pretty tightly controlled, no, the military doesn't force pilots to lie. Enough of our allies have flown it or against it in Red Flag that we'd not be successful keeping it a secret if it were a lemon. Likewise our allies like us, but not enough to spend billions on junk. But the program was somewhat of a disaster, and the sustainment costs continue to be high enough the air force is seriously considering shifting their future buys to upgraded versions of previous generation fighters. The joint acquisition was indeed a big part of the problem, with the 3 variants not having nearly as much commonality as hoped. So all the costs of the joint acquisition, with none of the benefits. Basically everything the AF has published about procurement since, particularly Dr Roper's stuff, is very clearly "don't let something like the F-35 program happen ever again."

irrational 6y ago
> our allies like us Is this still true? Or is this, they like us like we like a dumb puppy making a fool of itself while not realizing everyone is laughing at it behind their polite hands?
- benjohnson 6y ago
  It doesn’t even have to be ‘like’ that brings countries together - just a significantly better alternative to the USSR and PRC. Flawed as the US is, for a super-power we don’t seem to rack up dead bodies in the millions as others have done. And if we do slaughter innocents, at least we make contrite noises about it a few decades later.
  - irrational 6y ago
    That's like deciding to marry a man because he doesn't beat you as often as other men. He is still a bad man.
    - 29083011397778 6y ago
      I'd compare it to hanging around the school bully for protection, because the truly homicidal students won't stop at stuffing you in a locker like he does. Could America be better? Of course. Are they better than the alternatives, like spending dramatically more on defense or hoping China plays nice? Mostly to absolutely, depending on who's discussing it.
bradleyjg 6y ago
I remember reading case studies in college about the failures of the B1 bomber procurement process. Unclear if any lessons were learned decades later.
- jasonwatkinspdx 6y ago
  The B1 was a mess, and it got turned into a political football by Reagan. Carter canceled it for two reasons: first, the USSR upgraded the radars on their intercepters in a way that made the "nap of the earth" bombing mission suicidal, and second, he know about the B2 program. Reagan was briefed on the B2 and knew the B1 cancelation was the right decision, but decided to use it to portray himself as "tough" vs the USSR, making restarting the B1 program one of his big campaign promises. Here's the AF's current thinking, all be it in a memo with let's say, unexpected formatting: https://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documents/2020SAF/There_Is_No_Spoon_Digital_Acquisition_7_Oct_2020_digital_version.pdf https://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documents/2020SAF/There_Is_No_S... The tl;dr is the AF most definitely wants to dramatically change how these programs work, primarily around shorter timelines, less vendor locking, and the AF owning the system integration.

irrational 6y ago

> our allies like us Is this still true? Or is this, they like us like we like a dumb puppy making a fool of itself while not realizing everyone is laughing at it behind their polite hands?

benjohnson 6y ago
It doesn’t even have to be ‘like’ that brings countries together - just a significantly better alternative to the USSR and PRC. Flawed as the US is, for a super-power we don’t seem to rack up dead bodies in the millions as others have done. And if we do slaughter innocents, at least we make contrite noises about it a few decades later.
- irrational 6y ago
  That's like deciding to marry a man because he doesn't beat you as often as other men. He is still a bad man.
  - 29083011397778 6y ago
    I'd compare it to hanging around the school bully for protection, because the truly homicidal students won't stop at stuffing you in a locker like he does. Could America be better? Of course. Are they better than the alternatives, like spending dramatically more on defense or hoping China plays nice? Mostly to absolutely, depending on who's discussing it.

bradleyjg 6y ago

I remember reading case studies in college about the failures of the B1 bomber procurement process. Unclear if any lessons were learned decades later.

jasonwatkinspdx 6y ago
The B1 was a mess, and it got turned into a political football by Reagan. Carter canceled it for two reasons: first, the USSR upgraded the radars on their intercepters in a way that made the "nap of the earth" bombing mission suicidal, and second, he know about the B2 program. Reagan was briefed on the B2 and knew the B1 cancelation was the right decision, but decided to use it to portray himself as "tough" vs the USSR, making restarting the B1 program one of his big campaign promises. Here's the AF's current thinking, all be it in a memo with let's say, unexpected formatting: https://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documents/2020SAF/There_Is_No_Spoon_Digital_Acquisition_7_Oct_2020_digital_version.pdf https://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documents/2020SAF/There_Is_No_S... The tl;dr is the AF most definitely wants to dramatically change how these programs work, primarily around shorter timelines, less vendor locking, and the AF owning the system integration.