The Donald Goes After LockMart and the F-35

Actually going after Lockheed for the debacle that is the F-35 is the only thing I agree with him on so far. Maybe he'll go after the procurement and acquisition process and I can actually support him on something? Maybe when Lockheed sells us sh*t that is broken he will make them pay to fix it instead of the taxpayer?
 
Agreed, NE. His description of the F-35 is identical to how I've seen the program for quite a while.

Scary that I'm starting agree with him on some things!
 
///AMG said:
I hope that he develops and implements a functional plan to improve military acquisitions in the future. Complaining about it is just .001% of the battle…….a battle many have tried and failed at in the past.
Click to expand...

Six Frigates is one of my favorite books.

Since the dawn of our nation, our major defense acquisitions have been over cost, over schedule, and politically motivated. Like Old Ironsides, many of them have also been the most formidable weapons systems the world has ever known.

Our system may seem bad, but compare it to our Russian or Chinese adversaries. Many great Americans have staked their entire careers on providing the warfighter with the best possible equipment. I'll take our system over the cronyism-based ones any day.
 
hook_dupin said:
Our system may seem bad, but compare it to our Russian or Chinese adversaries. Many great Americans have staked their entire careers on providing the warfighter with the best possible equipment. I'll take our system over the cronyism-based ones any day.
Click to expand...

? This topic is about how cronyism and political motivations have resulted in our military receiving a giant piece of crap instead of the best jet we could produce. America had the best stuff because when you triple the budget of your competition you're bound to see some benefit. The point is to spend money wisely to get good hardware at a fair price to the taxpayers.
 
I find it interesting that Boeing stock dipped a bit then continued trucking up. I think they'll continue up until his tweets are backed by action.
 
hook_dupin said:
Our system may seem bad, but compare it to our Russian or Chinese adversaries. Many great Americans have staked their entire careers on providing the warfighter with the best possible equipment. I'll take our system over the cronyism-based ones any day.
Click to expand...

I'll buy that. There are also some heroes on the industry side. It isn't their fault. We (the services) routinely screw ourselves, and I think the major problem lies somewhere between milestone A and B, and having someone there to make the call that "[insert weapon] was a good idea initially, and now that we have removed X,Y,Z capabilities due to budget (or development shortfalls), it is no longer worth our time". I don't feel like that decision is being made in a lot of cases. Not talking F-35 here, but I am talking other things.
 
For the record, the USMC seems pretty happy with their B-model F-35s, which have been operational in a combat sense for almost a couple years now. The pilots seem to like them, based on what I've read and talked to. The USAF A-models just made their IOC about 4 months ago.

Generally speaking, for the straight scoop, it behooves one to listen to the guys in the field.



 
Our acquisitions program needs an overhaul from the smallest thing (like spending thousands on overpriced office chairs from one source at the end of the fy to keep your budget) to the Littoral Combat Ship and the F-35.

When the sh*t breaks due to design flaw, like the F-22 or the LCS, it shouldn't be the taxpayer paying for the redesign/fix.
 
In terms of capability, the F-35 is proving to be a very good aircraft.

Now whether we can afford it or not, is another story.
 
MikeD said:
In terms of capability, the F-35 is proving to be a very good aircraft.

Now whether we can afford it or not, is another story.
Click to expand...

As long as it's not suffocating its pilots, we're playing with house money.....

Seriously though, I've got a buddy that flies them out of Luke. I've heard the same glowing assessment from him too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top