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The irony is that if the countries that pull out of the F-35 program buy jets that actually function instead (and aren't just a $2 trillion piece of scrap metal
by Bratmon 1y ago
The irony is that if the countries that pull out of the F-35 program buy jets that actually function instead (and aren't just a $2 trillion piece of scrap metal), this trade war might be what saves democracy.
- mrweasel 1y agoThat's just not what's happening, at least for some of the countries. Spain is rejecting the F-35 for the EuroFigther (which is the plane they already operate) and Tempest (which doesn't exists yet). So in that case it's not that they are buying jets from competitors, they just aren't buying anything. In this case it feels much more like the Spanish government not really wanting to spend the money, or can't afford it, and Trump is just a convenient scapegoat.
- toomuchtodo 1y agoWhy would you transact with a country for defense infrastructure that will use force against you whenever they deem it necessary for leverage and power in a transaction? Better to replan and retool for sovereignty even if it means you lack some capability in the near term.
- mpyne 1y agoF-35 functions fine, lots of its problems relate to things like its logistical tail and associated IT system pain points that you'd have to solve with a different plane than F-35 either way, but I can't argue against the fact that a lot of countries are having to wake up to the reality of meeting their defense needs in much different ways than you'd have thought in 2015.
- Bratmon 1y agoNote that this is an example of what F-35 project managers consider to be "functioning fine": https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/27/us/alaska-f-35-crash-accident-report-hnk-ml https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/27/us/alaska-f-35-crash-accident...
- mpyne 1y agoYeah, you load the hydraulic system with water instead of hydraulic oil and bad things happen.
- marcosdumay 1y agoAFAIK, it's really unclear if the extravagantly high maintenance is a weakness that compensates for the capabilities the maintenance-heavy tech supplies. It's only known to function fine when your supply chains are not under attack.
- TiredOfLife 1y agoF-35 freely fly in an airspace protected by best in class non NATO air defence.
- Bratmon 1y agoF-35s can't even freely fly in friendly airspace. https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/27/us/alaska-f-35-crash-accident-report-hnk-ml https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/27/us/alaska-f-35-crash-accident...