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The Worst US Defense Program of All
- BlueTankEngine 5y agoThis article is a malicious misrepresentation of the facts. https://www.flightglobal.com/fixed-wing/boeing-delivers-14-kc-46a-tankers-in-2020-receives-contract-for-a-dozen-more/141931.article https://www.flightglobal.com/fixed-wing/boeing-delivers-14-k... Is this tanker program 7 years late in delivery? Yes. But Boeing has eaten the entire $5 Billion dollars of cost overruns, as the contract for these planes is fixed price. In addition, the reason the plane is 7 years late is absolutely not due to the boom control mechanism, but more so the fueling system. https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/32818/the-air-force-has-revealed-that-its-troubled-kc-46-tankers-leak-fuel-excessively https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/32818/the-air-force-ha... Because of the strict procurement laws we have in the USA, instead of the tax-payer taking huge losses on the program, Boeing shareholders have eaten the cost. I fail to see how this is a bad thing. Also the idea that after the prosecution of Druyun Boeing was favored is simply a lie. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125383323357539115 https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125383323357539115
- chrisgd 5y agoAll your points are valid and appreciated. I am stunned that she still keeps her government pension though.
- Narretz 5y agoI think you are misrepresenting the article. Its main argument is that the remote visual guidance system for the boom initially didn't work as intended and the fix is still in progess. Are you implying that is wrong?
- motoboi 5y agoIt’s very strange that the author go lengths to demonstrate how remote systems doesn’t work, just to, at the end, inadvertently providing an exemple where it works wonderfully (moral questions aside).
- HFguy 5y agoThe ending made little sense. Some of the facts of the article may be correct, but the flow of logic was odd.
- BlueTankEngine 5y agoI would say the main argument of the article is that the US Military Industrial Complex is corrupt and that the taxpayer is getting scammed by corrupt procurement officials into paying for things they don't need. I feel like this is pretty clearly a persuasive piece.
- 0xbadcafebee 5y agoThe article states that leasing caused an increase of $10B over non-leasing, so isn't Boeing still reeling in $5B more profit than necessary? I mean $5B is a drop in the bucket, but it still seems like needless waste.
- keewee7 5y agoThe "author" started the blog one day after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the theme in many of the articles is the usual triad of arguments from Russian bots: - The West is to blame, Russia is innocent! - Russia is strong! Western sanctions can't hurt Russia! - Western sanctions are provoking Russia and will lead to nuclear WW3! As an European with many Polish and Ukrainian friends I'm happy that isolationist American techno-libertarians are confined to Hacker News and r/Conspiracy. It would be a terrifying world if American libertarians had a say in foreign policy and defense policy.
- javajosh 5y agoI definitely get a libertarian feel from people on Hacker News, but not an isolationist one. Also it does seem like a strange move to pigeonhole and insult the group of people with whom you're trying to interact.
- boredumb 5y agoIt would be a much better world for most Americans if the government wasn't spending lives and billions of dollars policing countries 6000+ miles away on behalf of other countries and foreign interests. Calling people who don't want to waste American lives and resources over Ukrainian soil to allow Poland and Germany a russia free buffer zone "russian bots" is a joke, most sane Americans don't want war over who gets to be installed as the leader of Ukraine for this decade.
- horse90 5y agoThe "author" is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Cockburn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Cockburn. You can remove the quotes now
- throwmeariver1 5y agoBut it's on substack it must be true!
- tablespoon 5y ago> But it's on substack it must be true! Honestly, at this point seeing *.substack.com is a red flag, just like seeing *.blogspot.com.
- macinjosh 5y ago
- throw0101a 5y ago> Because of the strict procurement laws we have in the USA, instead of the tax-payer taking huge losses on the program, Boeing shareholders have eaten the cost. I fail to see how this is a bad thing. So the failure to deliver a product in the agreed upon timeline is a good thing? The delay is having knock-on effects with capacity: > TRANSCOM: Refueling Capacity a Major Shortfall, Made Worse by KC-46 Delays * https://www.airforcemag.com/transcom-refueling-capacity-a-major-shortfall-made-worse-by-kc-46-delays/ https://www.airforcemag.com/transcom-refueling-capacity-a-ma... > More problems with Air Force’s new tanker could put the squeeze on the Pentagon’s refueling capabilities, TRANSCOM chief says * https://taskandpurpose.com/news/kc-46-tanker-problems-pentagon-refueling-capabilities/ https://taskandpurpose.com/news/kc-46-tanker-problems-pentag...
- hahamrfunnyguy 5y agotldr: There are a number of US defense programs that are boondoggles and are a waste of taxpayer dollars. What can be done to fix it and make it more efficient? Well, the big problem is that congress loves boondoggles like this. The politicians are also delighted to take the money to help fund their campaigns. Now they owe some favors. As a bonus, they also get to brag to their constituents about how many jobs they're helping to create. The US system of government perpetuates this. Unfortunately, things are just going to get worse until we make some changes like establishing term limits and preventing politicians from becoming lobbyists.
- encryptluks2 5y agoI'd love to see more choices come elections besides the lesser of two evils.
- tfigment 5y agoMost people dont vote in primaries. That is only time choice is really an option for same party candidates. Since CU basically makes bribery legal its that much harder to remove bad incumbants since they have more campaign funds.
- ss108 5y agoCU?
- selimthegrim 5y agoCitizens United
- michaelt 5y agoCitizens United vs FEC [1] is a Supreme Court ruling, overturning limits on the amount of money corporations can spend supporting politicians' re-election attempts (i.e. bribes) because it's "freedom of speech" [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._FEC https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._FEC
- spupe 5y agoBoeing is the ultimate "too big to fail" company, judging by this and other scandals.
- 0des 5y agoAll defense companies fall into this category, it's by design.
- jas- 5y agoI would be interested to see metrics on articles involving positive vs negative opinions regarding defense programs.
- Leader2light 5y ago[dead]
- giantg2 5y agoI would think that the second with infrared imaging would be a plus. I wonder if the desire to use a digital imaging system is really so they can use the videos to train a ML system to perform the task without people. I think the MQ25 only uses the non-boom system currently.
- horse90 5y ago>> the urge to displace direct perceptions of the real world in favor of costly and therefore profitable technological interfaces That for some reason brings in mind all the chaotic ecosystem of modern IT infrastructure and development. Somehow, bigger and more complex seems to be the way things are lead to go every time.