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It's crucial to talk about the F-35's issues but perspective is also crucial. Every modern fighter program has faced issues like this. The F-14A had "flat spin

It's crucial to talk about the F-35's issues but perspective is also crucial. Every modern fighter program has faced issues like this. The F-14A had "flat spin" issues as dramatized in Top Gun. The F-16 had tons of early headaches. Etc. https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a21587/1977-when-the-f-16-was-americas-problem-child/ https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a21587/197...

JimtheCoder 4y ago
"The F-14A had "flat spin" issues as dramatized in Top Gun" The early F-14As had engines that would just stop running for no apparent reason...
- JohnBooty 4y ago
  Ah yes you mean our "spontaneous fuel saving mode," we're proud of that one! - Grumman salesman, probably
bnegreve 4y ago
I'm not sure this is the most appropriate citation, the article argues that there have been problems with the développement F16 but the that the problems are particularly bad with the F35. The F-16 encountered months of delays, but the F-35 A/B/C models will, on average, be delayed half a decade. The F-35 was originally slated to cost $50 million apiece—nearly twice the original cost of the F-16 at today's prices—but the three versions of the plane currently run anywhere from $112 to $120 million each. Yes, America and her allies have been down this road before, but this time it is a lot rockier.
- JohnBooty 4y ago
  That article is from 2016 and prices have come down since then. https://breakingdefense.com/2022/03/f-35-to-get-more-expensive-in-next-deal-program-exec-says/ https://breakingdefense.com/2022/03/f-35-to-get-more-expensi... The contract for lots 12-14, inked in 2019, included 478 F-35s for the US military and international customers. Under the terms of the agreement, an F-35A will cost $77.9 million in Lot 14, with the F-35B short takeoff and landing variant coming in at $101.3 million and the F-35C carrier variant at $94.4 million during the same period. Those prices are going up in the next lot due to inflation, but in inflation-adjusted dollars the price trajectory is generally downward. That's still more expensive than an F-16, but it's also a more advanced plane. I think the relevant comparison isn't the F-16.... it's competing modern fighters like the Rafale, the Eurofighter, and the Gripen. And the F-35 is competing with and beating them on price. (Direct price comparisons are impossible because of politics, hidden total cost of ownership concerns, government subsidies, etc. But... I've not heard it alleged that the F-35's cost is out of line with contemporaries)

JimtheCoder 4y ago

"The F-14A had "flat spin" issues as dramatized in Top Gun" The early F-14As had engines that would just stop running for no apparent reason...

JohnBooty 4y ago
Ah yes you mean our "spontaneous fuel saving mode," we're proud of that one! - Grumman salesman, probably

bnegreve 4y ago

I'm not sure this is the most appropriate citation, the article argues that there have been problems with the développement F16 but the that the problems are particularly bad with the F35. The F-16 encountered months of delays, but the F-35 A/B/C models will, on average, be delayed half a decade. The F-35 was originally slated to cost $50 million apiece—nearly twice the original cost of the F-16 at today's prices—but the three versions of the plane currently run anywhere from $112 to $120 million each. Yes, America and her allies have been down this road before, but this time it is a lot rockier.

JohnBooty 4y ago
That article is from 2016 and prices have come down since then. https://breakingdefense.com/2022/03/f-35-to-get-more-expensive-in-next-deal-program-exec-says/ https://breakingdefense.com/2022/03/f-35-to-get-more-expensi... The contract for lots 12-14, inked in 2019, included 478 F-35s for the US military and international customers. Under the terms of the agreement, an F-35A will cost $77.9 million in Lot 14, with the F-35B short takeoff and landing variant coming in at $101.3 million and the F-35C carrier variant at $94.4 million during the same period. Those prices are going up in the next lot due to inflation, but in inflation-adjusted dollars the price trajectory is generally downward. That's still more expensive than an F-16, but it's also a more advanced plane. I think the relevant comparison isn't the F-16.... it's competing modern fighters like the Rafale, the Eurofighter, and the Gripen. And the F-35 is competing with and beating them on price. (Direct price comparisons are impossible because of politics, hidden total cost of ownership concerns, government subsidies, etc. But... I've not heard it alleged that the F-35's cost is out of line with contemporaries)